Holding Hands
by SaiWrites
Summary: It was an extremely hot summer, much hotter than the guild could handle. Gajeel gets a hold of tickets to Spirit Park, and takes Team B on vacation. Natsu, however notices something off with him and Laxus. He wants to investigate, while everyone else just wants to have a good time, but maybe Natsu's suspicions were correct, after all. (Laxus/Gajeel centric, focus on others as well)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello all! I've been writing this for a while! This story takes place after Alone Together, and includes two pre-established relationships. I actually have some more chapters that are finished and will be posted soon. In the future, as a trigger warning, some chapters will get kinda dark, and include graphic scenes of torture. For now, enjoy some light-hearted stuff for the next five (or so) chapters!**

 **I want to mention, this fic is pretty much a coming out story, mostly focused on Gajeel, but we also focus on the other characters, including Team Natsu. It's about the experience of being afraid to be out and with a lover of the same sex in public, and the fear of being seen differently by friends and family. This is my take of how Gajeel would experience these feelings and how he deals with the fear of coming out or being outed somehow. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

It was finally summer, and it was excruciatingly hot. The guild's windows were all opened, and taking a dip in the pool meant boiling alive, as the cold water didn't seem to work. There were fans set up everywhere, but they only helped in blowing around hot air. It was sweltering, and the mages grew exhausted from the heat. Many of the guild members rested their heads on the table. Their own barmaid hid back in the kitchen, keeping the chilly air of the freezer to herself. They were all miserable.

The fire mage, however, seemed unfazed.

"No fair," the blue exceed complained, "I wanna be immune to heat, too…"

"Hmm," Natsu placed his hand under his chin, "How's about this? Yo Gray, hit me up with some ice," he said, confidently raising a limp Happy in extended arms. Gray rolled his eyes.

"It ain't that easy, Natsu," he clarified, "I only make objects, I can't make it snow or anything."

"What, no way! Can't you and Juvia make it snow?"

"Juvia should be able to make it snow on her own, right?" Erza chimed in. She lifted her head from the table, fanning herself with her hands. Her usual mail wasn't on her, as it would likely cook her alive. "She can change the temperature of her magic, she said so herself."

"Yeah, trust me, I know," Gray confirmed, "But it's way too how for the snow to even stay frozen before it hits the ground. It's impossible to just make ice or snow like this. Strong as my magic may be, I'm pretty burnt out of energy right now"

Natsu and Happy lowered their heads in disappointment, "Aww…" they whined in unison. Gray shrugged.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Erza said as she looked towards the front doors. Juvia walked in the guild, Cana beside her, but the rainwoman wasn't wearing her usual clothes. Erza raised an eyebrow, staring curiously at the girl's outfit. Instead of the usual dark dress and hat that covered her head to toe, Juvia had her hair out, and wore a crop top with yellow shorts. Oddly bright for Juvia's usual fashion, and oddly "open" as well.

"You look different!" Lucy joked. Juvia smiled.

"Hello friends," She greeted them, "It is too hot for Juvia to wear any of her dresses. She had to borrow her clothes for today."

"You have no clothes for the summer?" Erza asked, surprised when Juvia nodded, "You've gotta go clothes shopping with us!"

"Juvia would love to, but...we're only here because Gajeel-kun told us to meet him here."

"Gajeel?"

"Yeah," Cana said, "He said he's got somethin' for us...I don't know what, but it'd better be good, waking me up this early…"

The doors swung open again and Laxus entered the guild. He looked a little weird, too, outfit wise. Today, Laxus Dreyar didn't have his heavy coat on his person. He didn't wear shorts, but he had a tank and gray pants. He wiped beams of sweat from his forehead and glanced up, seeing Cana wave at him. He waved back, tired, and sat at the bar. Nothing about his demeanor was abnormal, but the fire dragon slayer looked at him as though he'd grown another eye. Laxus had his back to him and didn't notice his staring, but Erza pulled his head down, quickly, and scolded him for it.

"Quit looking at Laxus," Erza demanded, quiet enough so Laxus wouldn't hear. Natsu winced as his head was slammed on the table. "He just doesn't have his coat, idiot."

"Y-yeah...but...nevermind," he muttered. Erza sighed, releasing Natsu's head and letting him stand back up.

But Natsu had good eyes, and could see things on Laxus that the rest of them couldn't see from across the guild. On his ear was an incredibly faint bruise. It was a strange place for a bruise to appear after a fight. He remembered that the mage was just gone for two days, and that Bixlow complained about him being on "another mission" when he promised to help the Raijinshuu with their own. The Raijinshuu left yesterday afternoon without him.

That wasn't the only thing strange about Laxus. The other, more obvious thing was his scent. It was familiar, but whatever it was, the scent was mixing pretty well with his own, and it threw Natsu off. It probably had something to do with where he was the past two days, but it was strong. The younger slayer just couldn't seem to place it.

After a few minutes, Gajeel finally came in, and Natsu's eyes widened, as if for a moment, he may have realized why Laxus' scent was so familiar.

"Hey, you made me come all the way over this early and I'm sweating my bra off, so hurry it up," Cana complained, earning a mean look from Juvia. Gajeel grinned. His hand was in his pocket, and he pulled out six small slips of paper. As Cana and Juvia approached him, the slips of paper became more clear: they were tickets to a waterpark. The girls' excitement took over their weariness and they quickly grabbed one for themselves.

"What the hell? This is sick, Gajeel!"

"I told ya' it'd be worth it," Gajeel said surely, "I got tickets to this new place after my last job...so I'm takin' the team with me."

"You're doing Team B again?"

"I'm doing Team B again."

"THAT'S NO FAIR!" Natsu shouted from the other end of the guild. Gajeel glared at him, expecting this reaction, and Cana raised her eyebrows. "What about the rest of us!? We're melting over here!" He motioned to his own group, all of which were face down on the table.

Gajeel crossed his arms, "I'd rather not get the guild banned from another place again, thanks. Besides, you look fine, Salamander."

Natsu sat back down, pouting, stopping when Mira and Laxus approached Gajeel for their own tickets. The two dragon slayers exchanged a short, short look before separating again, and it clicked once more. Laxus smelled...metallic. He smelled like iron. It only made his bruise more suspicious. Then he watched Gajeel's own exceed partner fly up and take a ticket of his own. "He's going too…?" he mumbled.

"I'd trade an arm and a wing for a ticket right now…" Happy sighed. Natsu rolled his eyes. Cana and Juvia leapt outside the door already, soon followed by the other four, and the doors shut behind them.

"I'd love to go to a waterpark as well," Erza admitted.

"Yeah," Lucy spoke, "but I'm short on rent money already, there's no way I could afford a place like that right now...Spirit Park is like, super expensive."

"WE'RE GOING."

The other four look up at Natsu, curious after his sudden outburst. Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, "...I said, _Spirit Park_ , is _super expensive_."

"I don't Care, we're going!"

They all sat, silent.

"C'MON! It'll be fun! Besides I gotta see what's going on with lightning head!"

Erza stood, smacking Natsu on the back of his head, "I knew it," she said, "What's with you and Laxus, today?"

"Just trust me, Erza! Something's off with Laxus and Gajeel and I wanna see what's up! So what do ya' say? Fairy Tail team A?"

They were silent again. Erza and Lucy shared a glance, and sighed. Gajeel was right, Natsu was destructive, but just maybe Natsu was right that something was off with him and Laxus. She noticed their brief exchange when Laxus took his ticket. It was possible Natsu was onto something. Lucy, not paying much attention, really just wanted to die.

"...I'll pay for your ticket, Lucy…"

"YES!" Natsu stood on the table, cheering. The four, defeated, stood with Natsu. Triumphant, he flipped off the table and marched to the door, "Let's go get Wendy!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The air already felt cooler when the first mages arrived. Juvia pointed out all of the massive rides, towering over the park. The place was massive, with bright colors and rides everywhere. As the group entered, they first saw a large, stone fountain, with palm trees going around it. There were concession stands around them, and to their left a large bathroom. Four days at Spirit Park would sound like a dream to any other, but to Gajeel, it felt like something else.

The girls quickly made their way to the bathrooms to change into swimwear, leaving the boys alone. Laxus took out his wallet and handed Pantherlily some cash, "Hey, get yourself somethin' to drink."

"Ah, thank you." Pantherlily said, quite delighted by the friendly gesture. He flew off and Laxus turned to Gajeel, as the two were finally alone.

"You're doin' all this?"

Gajeel shrugged, averting his eyes, "...I might as well, I guess."

Laxus tilted his head, "It's certainly nice of you...also out of character. What're you trying to do, anyway?"

"I'm not being _out of character,_ asshole, I'm…" Gajeel bit his lip, turning back to the bathrooms. The girls were still in there changing, and Lily was still at the juice stand. He continued, "I want to spend...more time with you."

"...That so?" Laxus raised an eyebrow, "You didn't have to do all this, I mean, I could have paid for it."

"You know we can't stray from the guild that many times together, Laxus, they're gonna look at us weird!"

"Right, right, I know that…it's our secret."

They were silent for a moment. Gajeel looked up and noticed everyone coming back. "You and I have different hotel rooms. I'll sneak in with you when Lily falls asleep," he whispered, quickly before the four returned.

Juvia, Cana and Mirajane all wore their swimsuits. Juvia had a cute yellow one-piece, decorated with small flowers in a subtle pattern. Cana and Mirajane had bikinis; Cana's was green, and Mirajane's was sky blue with big frills and white hearts. Mirajane kept her focus on Juvia's gear, however, surprised to see her in such bright colors.

"Oooh, Juvia!" Mirajane spoke, "Your swimsuit is so cute! You really look so good in yellow!"

Juvia's face went red and Cana grinned nudging her arm, "Told you so," she said under her breath, chuckling when Juvia buried her face in her hands. Gajeel rolled his eyes, opening the folded map of the amusement park. It was massive indeed, with more areas than they could explore in just one day. He glanced at Laxus, then at Pantherlily, and then at the girls.

"How about this," he began, "You all stay together, we'll do our own thing."

"Aww," Juvia frowned, "Gajeel-kun does not want to join us?"

"Actually, I wanna go on a ton of rides, and I'm not watching him throw up." Cana complained. Gajeel groaned.

"You know I can handle park rides better than trains and boats, asshole."

"Whatever," Cana wrapped her arm around Juvia's waist, "Me and the girls 'll do fine on our own."

"We can meet back at the hotel for dinner," Mirajane suggested.

Thankfully, Gajeel's idea worked. Though they would be stuck with Pantherlily. The two were still in public regardless, and were hesitant to interact with each other. Gajeel figured Pantherlily would discover their relationship sooner or later, but he didn't know how to tell him himself. At this point, he wished he told Lily, but he hoped at least tonight would go well.

That past month, Gajeel felt like he couldn't get enough of Laxus, and Laxus felt similarly. They hadn't very clearly expressed that to each other, but the past two days solidified their relationship. Gajeel was invited to spend the night with Laxus, and as it got late, and as they drank more, the two sat there, in the living room, staring into each other's eyes for a lengthy amount of time until Laxus caved in and kissed Gajeel's already parted lips. They then had sex. It was rough, but it was passionate and long. Laxus left marks on Gajeel's inner thighs and lower abdomen, and Gajeel nicked Laxus' ear, leaving a mark of his own. They woke up sober, lying next to each other, but neither jumped up in fear. Gajeel himself was actually relaxed to see Laxus still there. He was thankful, and so was Laxus. They spent the rest of the day together.

As comfortable as they were with each other, both men were closeted. Gajeel didn't know how close Laxus was to his friends, but Laxus promised never to tell a soul about their relationship. As for himself, people always assumed he was straight. He didn't feel it was time to come out himself, but he felt coming out with Laxus would be somehow worse. He didn't mean that in a bad way either, but the two seemed like a rather odd pairing to the guild. Pantherlily was his closest friend, but he still wasn't ready to come out to him, either. As he thought about it, he became less and less sure that this was a good idea.

"God, finally," Natsu loudly exclaimed, stretching upwards and scratching his head, "Man, I was getting sick of that bus ride."

"You threw up on the bus, _and_ the train, Natsu," Lucy sighed, "I'm surprised you have this much energy."

It was around twelve when Natsu and his friends arrived at the park for their surprise vacation. A four day outing like this wasn't the best financial idea they could've agreed with, but the park was beautiful, and they could use the time to cool off from the hot weather. Wendy and Lucy were both pretty excited about going on rides and staying in a hotel together, but to Natsu and Erza, this was more of an investigation. Their concern for the other two dragon slayers kept growing throughout the ride, and the first thing they planned to do was hunt the two down.

"Here's the plan," Erza spoke up, pointing at a tall building within the park, "That's the hotel they're staying at, and we'll be staying there as well. Lucy, Wendy, Charle and I are sharing one room, and Natsu, Gray and Happy are sharing their own. For today, Lucy, if you could watch over Wendy and Charle…"

"Of course!" Lucy gave her a thumbs up, and looked down at the young dragon slayer, "What did you want to do first?"

"Oh! I wanted to go on that one! Can we do it?" She pointed in the direction of a massive blue water slide, and the three of them were off. Erza nodded, turning back to the remainder of the group.

"As for the rest of us...we're here because of Natsu's suggestion that something may be off with Laxus," She said.

"And we're just gonna go with that?" Gray questioned, "Last time Natsu said something was 'off' with someone it was because they hadn't showered in three days."

"Well I doubt it's THAT, and I have a hunch that we should be concerned as well. We need to find Laxus and see if we can watch his movements from afar-."

"Like NINJAS!" Natsu jumped in, wrapping his scarf around his face. He proudly stood on a nearby bench, taking stance and suspiciously looking around him.

"What a callback," Erza muttered, "No, Natsu, more like detectives. And we can't get too close of we'll get spotted. I already let Lucy and Wendy know on the train. That being said, Happy, you take the high ground. The rest of us will stay low and try to find them. We'll regroup this evening at the hotel and do some more investigating there."

The group seperated, with Happy flying up above the park in search of Laxus or Gajeel.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Hey Juvs, check it out!"

The trio were soaked from having tried out a few rides when Cana stumbled upon a massive water slide above them. A group of four people slid down the slide on a large circular raft, all screaming as it slid down towards the pool, splashing at close viewers as they hit the water. Cana jumped up excitedly, "Guys, we absolutely HAVE to."

"Ah, Juvia does not know…"

"Aw, c'mon, Juvia, it'll be fun!" Mirajane encouraged the mage, "It's not so bad, you just went on plenty of water slides, right?"

"Yes...but...they were _small_ ," Juvia clarified, "Juvia does not like the um...height...of that slide."

"Juvs, you'll be fine," Cana said, grasping the girls arm, "We're all going together, right?"

"...Yes, you are right. And Juvia has conquered many other things much worse than heights," She nodded, smiling slightly.

"Alright, babe!" Cana cheered, high-fiving Juvia and heading for the line. Watching the next group go, Juvia felt more and more intimidated-not by the water at all, but the height and the raft itself. She began to worry about something perhaps going wrong, like the raft slipping off the slide while it was still high up, or herself falling off the raft and off the slide.

Cana turned to Juvia and saw her worried face, and squeezed her hand. Juvia noticed, looking back at Cana, who gave her a thumbs up, "Yo, if anything happens...well I'm gonna make sure it doesn't. Promise!" She gave Juvia a kiss on her cheek, and Mirajane tilted her head, grinning. Juvia sighed, smiling and pecking Cana's nose as thanks.

One thing about the two that the guild had noticed was that they were talking to each other. Juvia was always a friendly person but she was never particularly close to anyone other than Gajeel. After teaming up during the grand magic games, the two got the chance to become much closer, so it made sense that they'd become friends. What the guild least expected, and doesn't know, was that they'd become lovers. This Mirajane, Laxus and Gajeel did know, but no one else.

So of course, this was a surprise to Lucy Heartfilia and Wendy Marvell, who happened to stumble upon them and hide as they were walking around the park. Behind the bushes, two shocked mages were hiding from the girls as directed by Erza, and watched the two share kisses. "Are they…?" Charle asked, quietly.

"They must...be," Wendy answered, "I never imagined…I knew they were talking but I never knew they were so close!"

"Aw, that's actually kind of cute," Lucy commented, "Huhu, that explains why Juvia's wearing such bright clothes all of a sudden. She must be so happy."

Curiously, they kept watch over the girls. As they reached the top of the steps Juvia began to walk slower, looking down at the pavement as she headed for the raft. Cana extended a hand to her, and she breathed in, taking it. Cana mouthed, "I've got you, promise," and Juvia smiled again, nodding. The three sat on the raft, Juvia not letting go of her partners hand until the raft was released.

And as it was, she tightly gripped onto the handlebars attached to the raft, shutting her eyes as it began to descend. Cana held a handlebar with one hand, and with the other, gripped Juvia's wrist tightly. There was yelling, adrenaline rushing throughout the three as the raft picked up speed, quickly making turns and splashing around with each one. It spun with every turn, and as Juvia opened her eyes for a moment, she saw Cana's hand, and she saw her face. Everything behind her was moving, but Cana's face was still. She was happy, holding onto Juvia and still enjoying the ride, and for that moment, Juvia felt more and more relief.

The raft hit the large pool, water splashing out at onlookers. Juvia was the first to rush off the ride, quickly followed by the others. She seemed more excited, jumpy, hugging Cana and Mirajane as she jumped up over and over. Lucy smiled. She remembered Juvia when they first met. She was much more reserved, always keeping to herself, and Juvia didn't believe she'd even make friends at Fairy Tail. Seeing her so happy made Lucy's heart skip a beat. Cana and Juvia were her very good friends, and she couldn't be more proud of them.

* * *

There was a small pizza place where the boys ate lunch. Pantherlily noticed the conversations between Laxus and Gajeel becoming more...domestic. They'd argued about who was paying for lunch; Laxus winning the argument by insisting, and because Gajeel had already spent enough on everyone else. They talked about stuff neither would usually discuss at the guild and nothing that had to do with jobs or fighting. It was awkward, however. Many times they avoided looking at each other. Gajeel in particular kept stopping himself in the middle of sentences as if he were going to say something he shouldn't have. It was certainly strange, seeing the two so close, and Lily had some theories that he wanted to test out.

"Hey, I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

"Mm. Ok," Gajeel said through chews. Pantherlily did indeed go to use the bathroom, and the two relaxed a bit, Gajeel holding the bridge of his nose.

"I really just can't wait to get to the hotel." Gajeel sighed. Laxus grinned.

"What for?" He asked, leaning in and mouthing, "You wanna have sex again, don't you?"

That was blatant, and it made Gajeel turn red, but it was true. Laxus rolled his eyes, "I know what you want, Gajeel," He whispered again.

"Yes, but not here!" Gajeel gritted through his teeth. Laxus tried holding in a chuckle before seeing Pantherlily return from the bathroom. Immediately, both of them turned away, as though they weren't just speaking to each other.

Of course, Pantherlily took note of that. Their faces were redder than before, and while they were previously chatting it up now the two were dead silent. It was incredibly odd behavior indeed, not just to the exceed, but to Titania herself. Sitting at another table far from the two dragon slayers, Erza had her hair in a bun and wore a hat and sunglasses to slightly disguise her appearance. She watched them chat, then suddenly turn away when Pantherlily returned. What could they have been talking about, she wondered. She didn't think-in fact, no one thought-Gajeel and Laxus would ever be friends, considering their magic and especially considering their history, but from the looks of it, the two seemed pretty close. Perhaps they were even closer than she knew.

She watched the three walk away from the small dining area, and she removed her sunglasses, standing and watching as the trio moved further and further away from her sight.

"I'm not sure if I'm big enough for rides," Pantherlily said, scratching his ear.

"Of course you are!" Cana said, "Just get bigger and come on!"

"O-oh...alright, if you _insist_ , I mean," He said before exhaling and taking his much larger form. In that state he was perfect for going on any of the rides, especially the roller coaster Cana was so desperate to get on.

"You aren't coming with us?" Juvia asked.

"Nah, nah," Gajeel responded, "We just ate. You go crazy."

The four left, and Laxus and Gajeel were alone again. Laxus stretched his arms and sat on the yellow bench beside Gajeel.

"Not so close," Gajeel whispered, suddenly.

"Right, right, sorry." Laxus scooted over until both men were on either side of the bench. It wasn't that Gajeel didn't want the attention, as a matter of fact, with Laxus being around him all day without any touching whatsoever, the iron slayer craved it. It was getting late, and he had some hope that they would get back to the hotel soon. Once Pantherlily falls asleep, then it was free rein for Laxus and Gajeel.

"What are they doing?" Happy whispered. He and Natsu stood behind a nearby bathroom, spying on the two. Natsu shook his head.

"They aren't doing anything right now," He answered, "But I saw Laxus move away from him...why'd he even sit so close to begin with? He probably smelled bad, or like metal or somethin' and he moved back."

"You think they're together?" Happy joked, grinning. His grin fell when he watched Natsu's unchanging expression become a frown. The mage scratched his head.

"...Happy, I-I don't know. I think so…" Natsu said, remembering the events of this morning, the way Laxus smelled and the way the two looked at each other. It was all incriminating evidence, at least to him. After that, however, there wasn't much. He hadn't seen either of them alone together until recently, and even now they weren't doing anything.

Pretty soon the other four came back, all looking pretty winded from the roller coaster ride. The girls' hair were messy, sticking out in various directions, and their adrenaline seems to have run low. This was it, Natsu thought. They must be going back to the hotel. "Happy, let's meet with Erza and Gray," He whispered, to which his friend replied, "Aye."

The sun was setting and Team A finally met up. Wendy, Charle and Lucy dried themselves off with towels, and Gray finished off a large bag of cotton candy. "Didn't see anything," Gray spoke, shrugging as he took the last bite of the candy, "Couldn't even find any of 'em, this park is too damn big."

"Yeah right, I found them no problem!" Natsu said confidently, dismissing Happy's help, "We saw metalhead and lightning-brain sitting together 'nd stuff!"

"And doing…?"

"...uh...nothing?" Natsu said quietly, his triumph coming to a bitter end.

"Uh huh," Gray said, "So what are we even _doing_ this for?"

"I actually saw something interesting," Erza joined, "They seemed to be having quite the conversation when I found them. In fact, Pantherlily left to use the bathroom, and when he returned, they were completely silent. It was pretty odd seeing them talking to each other at all."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu mocked, as if to belittle her findings, "Lucy, what'd you even do all day? You see anything suspicious from anyone in Team B, huh?"

"Hmm...nope!" Lucy answered, shrugging, "None of us saw anything, actually."

"We were to busy going on ride and stuff!" Wendy giggled. Charle smiled at the two. They were such bad liars, but their friends seemed to have bought it.

"Well, it's late, what do you say we wrap it up for today, get some dinner?" Erza suggested. The group agreed, and they all headed towards a food stand to grab dinner. Lucy was actually relieved that they just bought it. She didn't want to be rude and say anything about Cana and Juvia, and neither did Wendy or Charle. Neither Juvia nor Cana said anything about their relationship, so it must have been private, and Lucy wanted nothing but to respect that.

By the time they'd get back to their hotel it was around nine. Lucy stood out on the deck and had a pretty good view of the park below. She looked out and noticed the ocean; there was an entire beach and boardwalk area of this massive park. She was surprised to see this, and thought about taking Wendy down there with her. Not only was there a beach, but she had a perfect view of the sun setting. Her time alone was cut short, however, when she heard commotion and recognized the voices as Juvia, Cana and Mirajane. Lucy quickly darted back inside her hotel room and shut the door, closing the blinds so she could remain hidden.

Thankfully, they didn't seem to notice, and they went on their merry way. Lucy sighed, relaxing against the wall.

"You should get some sleep," Erza said, "I'm sure you wanna get up early tomorrow."

"Right, yeah," Lucy said, standing up straight and yawning.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Finally.

Pantherlily fell asleep at around ten that night, and Gajeel carefully snuck out of the little hotel room. He stepped out onto the deck, surprised to see Laxus waiting for him. Laxus sat on a chair outside of his own hotel room, resting his feet on the railing of the deck. He looked up at Gajeel and stood, looking around to see if anyone was watching them. It was dark out, and there wasn't any activity on their floor, so he scooped Gajeel up into his arms. He gasped, surprised to have been lifted up so suddenly, gripping onto Laxus as he was no longer touching the floor.

"W-what are you doing-?"

"Shh shh," Laxus silenced him, carrying him into his own hotel room and shutting the door behind him and closing the window curtains. Gajeel was carried to the bedroom and rested onto the bed, and Laxus closed and locked the bedroom door. Gajeel laid there, watching Laxus set up the room, closing the window and dimming the lights. He looked over Gajeel on the bed before removing his own shirt.

Gajeel watched him take off his shirt and he blushed. Though the two had done this before, watching Laxus strip always made the other dragon slayer nervous. Laxus climbed into the bed and kissed Gajeel's cheek, pulling Gajeel over himself as he rested on his back. He was warm, and eager, Gajeel could tell. Laxus sat up as Gajeel removed his t-shirt, and he ran his hands down the other's pants. Gajeel arched his back and moaned quietly as Laxus touched his body, and he bent down for a kiss. Laxus held his head up, running fingers through his long dark hair as they made out. Laxus pulled Gajeel's pants down and off as they kissed, leaving him in just his underwear.

"You've been pretty patient, today," Laxus said, "I'm surprised you didn't drag me to a bathroom or anything."

"I like not getting caught," Gajeel said between breaths. He shivered when he felt Laxus' hard member underneath him, through the other's pants, "Hurry it up, I've been waiting all day."

Laxus chuckled, unzipping his pants and revealing his cock. He also reached down Gajeel's underwear and took out his own. Laxus stroked Gajeel's cock, jerking himself off as well. Gajeel, already shaking with pleasure, leaned into Laxus as he let him do as he pleased. Soon enough, Laxus reached a hand in a bag he'd left beside the bed, and pulled out a bottle of lubricant. He lathered some on his fingers as Gajeel watched.

"What did you want me to do…?"

"Stay there," Laxus said, gently pushing Gajeel off of him and back onto the bed. Gajeel rested on his stomach, looking to the side while Laxus sat over him. With his free hand he lifted Gajeel's waist up and held it. Gajeel bit his lip and moaned when he felt two fingers slip into his entrance. "Stay quiet," Laxus whispered, moving his fingers around inside of him. Gajeel arched his back as Laxus began moving his fingers faster until he stopped momentarily.

He felt Laxus lift his waist up more and spread his legs, and he felt his entrance being open by Laxus' hard member. It was quite big, so he'd yet to really get used to it, but he wasn't able to yell out like usual. Instead, Gajeel buried his face into the pillow, biting at it as Laxus pushed himself in further. "Fuck-Laxus…" Gajeel moaned into the pillow. He felt his legs go numb, and he desperately grasped the sheets below him while Laxus thrusted faster and harder.

Laxus moaned deeply, bending down to kiss Gajeel's back, moving upwards. He fucked him roughly, holding Gajeel down by the waist and pulling him in with every thrust. Gajeel's quiet cries made him want to cum more and more, but he kept going long enough for Gajeel to as well. Gajeel begged for Laxus to be rougher, and Laxus grabbed Gajeel's arms from the bed and held them behind him. He used his other hand to hold down Gajeel's head against the pillow before Gajeel could get any louder.

"Ah-ah! I'm...fuck-ah! Cumming…" Gajeel said through the pillow. Laxus nodded, grunting, holding himself inside of Gajeel as both of them released. Gajeel felt Laxus' seed inside of him, breathing heavily as he finished himself. Laxus let go of the other's hands, watching them loosely fall over onto the bed, and pulled out of Gajeel finally.

"Wanna shower?" Laxus offered. Gajeel only nodded, and Laxus carried him out of the bed and into the bathroom.

He let Laxus hold him up as they showered. Laxus kissed Gajeel's tired lips, grabbing a washcloth and lathering his body with soap. This wasn't the first time they'd showered together, either. While normally Gajeel would object to anyone helping him shower after sex, Laxus was something else. He loved the way Laxus was so gentle with him, despite his roughness in nature and despite their past together. The two connected somehow, and over a month their relationship seemed to bloom.

Laxus carried him out of the shower and back into bed, wrapping Gajeel under the whole blanket. He wrapped his arms around him, holding him and pressing his lips on his forehead as Gajeel began to fall asleep. It was completely silent. Laxus could hear nothing but the ocean waves and Gajeel's breathing. He shut his eyes, taking in Gajeel's scent as he too fell asleep.

The girls had a more quiet night; Juvia sat in bed reading as Cana drifted off beside her. Mirajane sat in her own bed, pinning her long white hair up as she got ready to sleep. She looked at the other two. Cana snuggled up to Juvia's waist as she slept, and they both shared the blanket. They looked quite content, Mirajane thought.

She knew about their relationship, as well as Laxus and Gajeel. It was surprising that no one else at the guild knew about the two, in fact, neither Juvia nor Cana explicitly told her or Laxus about their relationship. They found out quickly, Laxus poking fun at how obvious Cana was being around Juvia. Gajeel found out later, however, when Juvia told him, but it made sense to him as well, the dragonslayer just never questioned it.

This got Mirajane thinking; why didn't they just tell the guild? Of course...coming out is hard, which she understood, but she was confident that the rest of the guild would be understanding and accepting of the two. Whenever they went out, Juvia and Cana seemed much happier around each other, but the were happy at the guild, too. They kept their relationship a secret, though, at least as much as they could. In truth, Mirajane just wanted them to be just as comfortable at the guild as well.

But she didn't say anything. Juvia was starting to fall asleep herself, and she didn't want to interrupt the two. They looked so peaceful.

Instead she quietly stood from her bed and stepped out the hotel room. The mage happened to be a bit hungry. A quick snack wouldn't hurt, right? Mirajane stopped as she closed the door behind her, a bit surprised to see the young girl standing before her, frozen in place. She looked down at the bluenette with a bright, surprised smile, but the young girl looked quite terrified. Wendy was only headed to her room, she wasn't expecting to get caught by Mirajane so early.

"Well, well, well!" Mirajane said, "If it isn't Wendy! I didn't know you were here!"

"Uh-uh, well, I…" she stuttered, "...Actually...um." Wendy stood up straight, hands behind her. She switched her voice to a whisper, "Actually...technically...you aren't supposed to know I'm here."

"Hmm?"

"Yeah," she admitted, "Natsu wanted to come to the park as well...cause he was jealous? I think...but y-you aren't supposed to see us here!"

"...Oooh," Mirajane nodded, "I see. Well, of course it's no problem! I _never_ saw you," She winked, and turned the other direction. Nervously, Wendy nearly tripped retreating to her room with Lucy and Erza. The two were up late, looking at outfits to wear the next day when Wendy came in, almost slamming the door behind her. The two looked at her worriedly.

"Is everything okay?" Lucy asked, staring at the young dragonslayer.

Wendy bit her lip, "I-I'm fine!" she responded, "Nothing to worry about!"

* * *

Pantherlily woke up confused. His partner wasn't in the bed with him, and the room wasn't a mess and the shower wasn't running so Gajeel was probably not even in the room. He stumbled out of bed in his small form, trying to fly up and around the room to find him. Gajeel didn't turn up and he left the hotel room a little worried for his partner's whereabouts. He was used to Gajeel leaving the house without him, but not this early in the morning, before he even woke up, and especially on vacation.

The next closest room was Mirajane, Cana and Juvia's. They were likely asleep, and Pantherlily didn't want to disrupt them, but he was too concerned for his friend and knocked on the door anyway. He was surprised to hear someone walking towards the door already. Juvia, already dressed for the day, answered the door and looked down to be greeted by the exceed.

"You...haven't seen Gajeel, have you?"

"Mmm...no, sorry," she answered, "Juvia hasn't seen Gajeel since we turned in for the night."

"Haven't seen 'em either," Cana stated from inside the hotel room, "Check with Laxus, he might know."

"Alright, thanks."

A few doors down was Laxus' hotel room. When Pantherlily walked up to the door he heard the shower running. He also heard...talking. Was he using the phone? Then he heard the other end of Laxus' conversation. It was clearly Gajeel, and they were arguing about something. "Well what if someone fucking heard us?" "You _asked_ me to go harder-" "Just shut up already!" He heard the two bickering.

His eyes widened. What did he mean by 'what if someone heard us?' he knew something was happening between the two, but he wasn't too sure. They'd been acting incredibly suspicious since they'd arrived at the park, but this was one of the first secrets Gajeel hadn't let Pantherlily in on. He was a man that minded his own business, but he let his curiosity get the best of him, and knocked on the door. The conversation went dead silent, and all Pantherlily could hear was the shower running.

Admittedly, he wanted to burst through the locked door and see exactly what was going on with them. He felt like he'd been driven to a breaking point. Really, he just wanted to know if Gajeel was okay, but whatever secret he'd been keeping, he'd been keeping it for a moment too long. After a bit, Laxus finally opened the door. He wasn't fully dressed, but he clearly rushed to answer the door, as he was only wearing jeans, and his hair was still dripping wet. He had to have known it was the exceed, otherwise he wouldn't have been so quick to answer.

"Is Gajeel in there?"

"Haven't seen 'em," He shrugged, clearly lying. Pantherlily was nearly fuming, but kept his cool.

"I could have sworn I heard him in your room, Laxus," He said, "Is he in there or not?"

"He isn't here, Lily, I have to get dressed-"

Before Laxus could close the door, Pantherlily quickly swapped to his larger form, grabbing the door and letting himself in. Not wanting to be too forceful with the exceed, Laxus let it happen, albeit regretfully. "Hey," He called out, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know what it is with you and Gajeel, but it's getting suspicious and I'd like to find out," he answered, pointing a finger towards Laxus, who growled and grabbed his arm, pushing it back down.

"Then how about you mind your fucking business?"

"So he is in here?"

"I said mind your goddamn business!" He yelled, sparks flying off of him, "What's it even matter to you anyway!?"

"Gajeel is my partner!" Pantherlily gestured to the room, "And he's my friend! I think I have the right to be worried about my friends, am I wrong?"

"Get out, Lily."

"Tell me the truth, first."

"Enough."

Laxus and Lily turned towards the bedroom door. Gajeel appeared, dressed, though without shoes and messy hair. He scratched his head, looking tiredly at the two and frowning when he turned to the hotel door and saw three concerned girls peeking though. His face flushed red as all eyes were on him. Laxus calmed down, seeing his mates defeated eyes.

"...That's enough, Laxus," he muttered nervously. Laxus crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact with the others. "I should...tell you the truth, Lily." He spoke hesitantly, "I've been...Laxus…is…"

"...he's what?" Pantherlily powered down. Gajeel was shaking, not looking directly at his partner. The two seemed ashamed, almost intimidated by everyone's presence as the truth was slowly slipping through Gajeel's mouth.

"Laxus and I are together."

So that's it.

The two had been so close, but Pantherlily didn't realise how close their relationship was. Mirajane's eyes furrowed, a bit solemnly at Gajeel's direction. Laxus looked pretty devastated being unable to keep his promise to keep their relationship a secret, and Gajeel looked hurt.

"What are you...talking about?" Mirajane asked, stepping in the hotel room, "...I mean...we kind of figured as much."

"What?" Both men looked up and spoke in unison, shocked. Pantherlily looked up as well, listening to Mira's statement.

"I-well…" she tried to explain, "I mean, you guys...uh…"

"You've been really close," Pantherlily interjected, "I've noticed, too. You two talk more and more, but you always seem to...stop whenever anyone else is around. I'd actually gotten concerned for a moment," The exceed flew up gently to Gajeel's height, "...because every time you came home, this whole month, you seemed so detached...like there was something wrong that-that you were avoiding telling me. Now that I know what's going on...I can see why you'd want this to be private, and I apologize."

Gajeel looked up. Pantherlily sounded genuinely worried. Laxus looked up with sorrow and he sighed and bit his lip, "I mean," he muttered, "It's...okay. It's okay if you guys know, I mean."

"Well it's not like we see you two any differently," Mirajane chimed in, "You guys seem happy together and...we don't want to be the reason it goes awry."

"Welcome to the gays club," Cana stuck her tongue out. Laxus rolled his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was always the least crowded at the beach in the morning. The nice cool air made it even better. There were plenty of shops on the boardwalk, and they could see the massive rides and hotels within the amusement park. Mirajane suggested spending some time at the shore with Juvia, Cana and Pantherlily. The other two showed less interest in going because they didn't "enjoy the beach as much," but she already figured they wanted some time alone, especially after the events of earlier that morning.

The boardwalk itself wasn't packed either, which was great for Laxus and Gajeel. While the others were gone, Laxus decided to take Gajeel to breakfast. There was a small place that served all day breakfast; it was adorned with dark-stained wooden floors and bright yellow walls. The booths had red chairs and white tables, and the lights above them were red as well. It had a calming vibe, playing simple pop music at a reasonably low volume, and it's current emptiness let Gajeel relax back against his chair.

He was never sure about coming out. Gajeel figured, at least, his closest friends would be the most accepting, especially Juvia and Pantherlily. Thinking about it, he wasn't too sure why he was worried, as Juvia and Cana were already out to their friend-group-hell, he knew Juvia was bisexual for a while-but there was something in his gut that told him otherwise. Tough as he was, knowing he was gay didn't sit well with him initially...it never did, and it never sat well with many other people in his past, either. Gajeel was, undoubtedly, insecure.

But then he tried it, with Laxus, who showed him nothing but genuine love and care since their relationship began. He'd slept with him after Laxus admitted his feelings for him, and not long after that, Gajeel himself admitted he had a small crush on him for quite some time. They knew to give each other some space, but this relationship was some kind of relief to the both of them. Somehow, Gajeel managed to find someone-another man-that not only didn't care that he was gay, but also liked him back.

As they sat down and received their menus, watching the young waitress walk towards the back of the little restaurant, Laxus reached out, holding Gajeel's hands, looking surprisingly sorrowful, "Hey," he spoke quietly, "I...I know this morning was rough."

"It's fine," The raven shook it off, not wanting to discuss it.

"No, I mean it," he said, "I mean it and I'm sorry, it was my fault. This was...shit, I know what this meant for you, but christ, Gajeel, I'm a bad fucking liar. I know I promised not to say anything-this was supposed to be our secret-but I went and fucked it for us-"

"You didn't," Gajeel grabbed his arms, silencing him. He sighed, "You...didn't. It's okay, really, it's...fine if _they_ know."

"..."

"I'm alright, promise."

Before the waitress returns with their drinks and sees them, they share a quick kiss. Relieved, Laxus was able to actually _relax_ with Gajeel. Like Gajeel, Laxus was in the closet, and had only told his friends. Freed of course, was the first one he'd come out to, and Bickslow and Evergreen followed suit. They were his best friends, and he trusted them more than everyone else. He never imagined actually having a relationship with another man, however, let alone Gajeel.

Keeping secrets has never been more stressful for either of them.

* * *

Mirajane relaxed, laying on a sky-blue beach towel and soaking in the sun while the other two played in the ocean. Pantherlily sat beside her, enjoying a fruit popsicle. For Natsu, there wasn't much to see. Really it just looked like typical girl time. He stood behind large stones, peering out to spy on them for any suspicious activity, but was disappointed to see Laxus wasn't even there. He sighed, sliding on the sand against the rock, "Nothing."

"Maybe there wasn't anything to worry about to begin with," Happy yawned, the exceed flying over to sit by his side, "Man, it's still so early, and I'm hungry…"

"What? No way!" Natsu insisted, "I'm not leaving until I'm satisfied! I'm gonna keep watch of Team B and see what's up with 'em, and you're helping, y'hear?"

"Aye…" Happy said, tiredly.

Back at the boardwalk, Wendy, Charle and Lucy sat on a bench, enjoying taiyaki for breakfast when Erza and Gray walked by, sitting beside them and sighing respectively. Wendy perked up, looking curiously at the two. Erza was uncharacteristically hunched over and Gray was nearly nude, sitting in his underwear.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked the two.

"This 'investigation' is gettin' real stupid," Gray answered. Erza sat up properly.

"It only day two, and it's very early but I feel like we're on a wild goose chase," she said, "I'd like to actually enjoy my time here, I haven't had a real vacation in a while."

"Same, same," Lucy said, "It's really nice here, Erza, you should try some rides with us!"

"And just drop the mission!?" A nearby voice yelled out. The four of them looked up to see Natsu and Happy walk up the steps and on the boardwalk. The dragon slayer must've overheard their conversation. "I thought we were here on a stakeout!" Natsu complained, "What, does everyone wanna give up on day _two_!?"

"Not so loud, Natsu," Erza stopped him, "And why does it even matter anyway? We're missing so much wasting our time trying to spy on them! We should just mind our own business anyways."

"What's so bad about being concerned for our friends, anyways?"

"We aren't being concerned for our friends, we're snooping into their business!" Erza exclaimed, standing over Natsu, "You two can keep up your little 'stakeout' until one of them catches you and gives you a beating, then! We're going to enjoy our time at Spirit Park."

She marched off with that statement, and Natsu huffed, turning and storming the other direction. Gray rolled his eyes, following Erza, leaving Lucy and Wendy alone on the bench. Wendy frowned, feeling a bit guilty for abandoning Natsu, though she had little to nothing to do with his investigation. Natsu got into plenty of fights with Laxus and Gajeel, but she never knew how friendly they were with him, so Natsu showing concern for the two was quite surprising for the young dragon slayer.

Natsu was reckless, and this didn't go unnoticed. In and out of the guild, Natsu was known for not making the best decisions. Erza wasn't wrong that Natsu should probably just mind his own business, but Natsu was not only reckless, he was also curious. He was hard to stop, and Wendy couldn't do much. It seemed like no one else was in the mood to deal with him, either. So she just sat, and watched him storm down the boardwalk with Happy. She looked down at Charle, who also looked on at the two.

Wendy didn't just feel guilty for Natsu, but she also felt something off with Gajeel lately. He'd been less present in the guild, and when he made an appearance, he ignored everyone. It wasn't the usual 'ignore everyone he doesn't like,' but it was hard to get the man to speak at all as of late. She noticed quickly, as she was used to being one of the very few mages to be properly greeted by the man. He'd ceased talking to her, Levy, and even Pantherlily. Wendy sat and thought about it; perhaps Laxus and Gajeel acting so oddly all of a sudden was for a similar reason? Their last mission together was over a month ago, and She knew Lucy and Erza, even Natsu went with them and they all seemed fine. So why did those two…?

As she let her mind wander, she started getting strange thoughts. Strange suggestions. She didn't know why she'd jump to such a conclusion, but it was a possibility. Were they...together? Like Juvia and Cana? Were they keeping it a secret? It all made her even more curious, despite not wanting to spy on them like Natsu. Then Wendy remembered yesterday, when she and Lucy found Juvia, Cana and Mirajane. Maybe Mira knew something about it. She wasn't sure if it was okay to engage with Team B again, but she felt she should at least ask, for the sake of closure.

"Hey! Wendy!"

"Huh?" Wendy jumped up, out of her thoughts. She looked up at Charle, flying slightly above her.

"Lost in your thoughts again?" She commented, "We're going to walk around the boardwalk for a bit, while it still isn't crowded."

"Oh! R-right!" Wendy stood up, nearly falling back but catching herself.

* * *

The park was starting to get crowded as the afternoon came closer, and it was getting harder to actually hang out without feeling like people were watching them, but neither of them wanted to stay cooped up in the hotel room all day, so the dragon slayers stuck it out. The underground portion of Spirit Park was an aquarium, similar to Ryuzetsu Land, but it was much bigger. It was also dark down there, and plenty of people were distracted, so they felt safer being with each other.

They walked down a hallway leading towards a large, round room surrounded by glass walls. Looking up, they could see large fish swimming above them. The light reflecting into the empty dome room made the floor look like water as well, and it made Gajeel feel as though he were floating. Laxus looked down at him; he seemed lost in the moment, looking out into the ocean. He stood close to Gajeel, sneaking a hand towards his and holding it, briefly bringing Gajeel back to reality. As he realized what was happening, he was sent through another scape, feeling again as if he were just floating freely. Laxus was warm. He didn't want to let his hand go.

Eventually, they had to, as another family walked into the dome room, and Gajeel suddenly felt weighed down. Quickly and quietly, he left the room. Laxus followed him soon after, a little surprised at the sudden decision to leave. The aquarium portion of the park also had a food court, though it was brightly lit. Gajeel didn't feel like he'd escaped completely, but there weren't many people there, yet. He sat down, albeit regretfully, as he knew people would be flooding in soon for lunch. He sat in the corner booth, by a window looking out at more fish. He kept his focus on that while keeping his head low, his hands over his forehead. Laxus sat across from him, trying to get a look at the other's hidden face.

"Gajeel?"

"I'm fine."

They sat in silence for a while. Laxus offered to buy lunch, but Gajeel silently declined, not looking up at him. Then he suggested going back to the hotel, but Gajeel didn't answer that time. Laxus slouched over, trying to get a look at Gajeel's face. His face was red, and he looked stressed out. Grimacing, Laxus instinctively reached out and held Gajeel's head, caressing his cheek until the other dragon slayer was calm. Truly, Gajeel just wanted to be able to enjoy being together without caring about people looking at them. He'd never cared for stuff like this until now. He felt like people were staring daggers into him, even when they likely weren't, and it hurt his chest.

Then he shot his head up. He heard giggling. He looked out of the booth and out of the food court. He couldn't see anyone looking at them, but he definitely heard laughter, he was sure of it. He heard it again, and this time Laxus heard it, too. Gajeel stood up, looking in the direction of the noise. His senses were picking it up from pretty far, but as he listened in, he realized how almost inhuman it sounded. When he heard it a third time it sounded quite high-pitched, as though it were a goblin or something small. He felt his scales rise up slightly from his skin, and when Laxus saw this, he stood as well. Gajeel led the way, following the sound until he found it's source.

Eventually they reached a corner of the aquarium, and began walking through a hallway they likely weren't supposed to be in. But as they got closer, the laughter got louder, and as cautious as Laxus wanted to be, Gajeel was already pushed over the edge and wanted to get to the bottom of it. They reached a room, with a sign reading " _Do Not Enter: Employees Only._ " Gajeel dismissed the sign and forced the door open. As he did, however, the laughter stopped.

Gajeel looked down, and in a dark corner of the room, a very small, shadowy figure stood there, staring up at him. It didn't have human proportions, in fact, Gajeel couldn't make out what it was. It was a silhouette, and it had arms and legs, and a big gut and a large head. It was only about a foot and a half tall, and it had horns on its head. A thin tail stood up, as it was frightened by the two dragon slayers. It's eyes were staring straight at Gajeel, and then looked at Laxus. Intimidated, it ran into the wall-or rather, into the shadows cast by nearby boxes-and disappeared. Confused, Gajeel stood there. "What the fuck was that?" he muttered, shakily. Laxus bit his lip, looking behind him and down the hallway.

"We shouldn't be here," Laxus whispered, waking Gajeel from his thoughts, "Look...let's just go back to the hotel-"

"You saw it too didn't ya'?"

"...Yeah, yeah...I did. But we still can't stand around here. Let's head back. If we hear anything else, we'll just go after it, I guess."

"..Mmm," Gajeel groaned, annoyed that their investigation ended in slight disappointment, though he was left curious. What the hell was that creepy thing? Clearly it was there, Laxus saw it as well, so he wasn't going crazy like he'd first thought. It looked like a demon or something. When they left the aquarium and made it back to the park, the sun was high above the sky. It was incredibly hot and crowded, and Gajeel could feel a migraine coming in, pulling him out of his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

One of the many things Spirit Park had to offer were restaurants at the docks, all with an amazing view of the ocean. There were four of them, all brightly lit with fairy lights and the streetlights around them, adjacent to each other and lined up on the dock. One of them was called Luca's, and everyone had decided to meet up there.

Pantherlily was actually kind of glad to see Gajeel was alright, but he looked disgruntled. Laxus pat his back, gaining the man's attention. Gajeel sighed, nodding and looking at his other friends. He grinned at Pantherlily, who smiled back.

The restaurant was pretty moderate in size but it was certainly beautiful. It wasn't completely elegant-it was after all apart of an amusement park-but it was still charming. Mirajane suggested it, initially as a date idea for Juvia and Cana but they insisted she and the others joined with them. They sat down around a large, round table, decorated with a white tablecloth and a vase full of flowers. When they sat down, a server came by and took down their drinks. As he left, Gajeel turned to Laxus.

"Should we...uh…?" Gajeel asked. Laxus paused, staring at the other slayer.

"...Yeah."

The rest grew worried. Was it about this morning? It didn't affect their relationship that badly, did it? Pantherlily had been worried all day about what a toll it must've been to intrude on them, but his feelings suddenly changed with Gajeel's serious expression. Something was off with Gajeel, and it was different from his relationship with Laxus. Gajeel spoke in an unusually quiet tone, lowering his head so as to not garner too much attention.

"Laxus and I went downstairs earlier-to the aquarium.," he stated, "We heard somethin' laughing and followed it through this hallway and uh, to a room. It was restricted but we went in anyway...there was...something...in there."

"When Gajeel opened the door we saw this thing sitting in the corner," Laxus spoke up, "We heard it laughing. It was small and didn't look _any_ kind of human. It completely disappeared almost as soon as it saw us."

The other four sat in disbelief. What they were saying was unexpected and quite bizarre. As mages, and members of Fairy Tail of all guilds, they'd seen some weird stuff, so of course they didn't just disregard what they were saying. Mirajane knew someone like Natsu or Romeo would say that just to drag them somewhere, but since it was Laxus and Gajeel, she could take it more seriously. "Was it something magical?" She asked.

"I have no idea," Gajeel answered, "I didn't pick up any magic in the room. I could only hear it laughing from so far...almost as if it was trying to call us."

"I don't know if it was trying to call us," Laxus interjected, "but it really seemed like no one else in the aquarium heard it. It seemed pretty loud when we got close enough to it, but no one else reacted but us. Probably why it feels like we're going crazy."

Pantherlily nodded, "You two are dragon slayers, though, right? Wouldn't you be able to hear something that quiet naturally? From so far away?"

"That's the thing," Laxus clarified, "It wasn't quiet at all. _Anyone_ could have heard it."

It grew quiet. Their story was getting creepy, but it was interrupted when the server returned with their beverages and took their orders. When the server left, Gajeel scratched his head and shrugged. "I feel like somethin's off," he said, "Like, I think we should take a look at it."

"...If it's what you say it is, we should look tonight," Mirajane whispered, "Maybe we can sneak down there and take a peek in that room, if no one's in there."

"Kinda like a spy mission? Ha, I'm in," Cana smirked. Juvia rolled her eyes.

"Cana-san, we have to be careful," Juvia said, turning to the group, "If it isn't a human...and it isn't just some kind of animal...Juvia fears it may be something really, really bad. And if we go at night, the Aquarium will be closed. No one will be there, but a worker may see us, and-"

"Right, right," Cana said, "But...Juvia, you can turn into water right? You and I can stay as lookout. If I play my cards right, I can sneak in as an employee, and you can swim around invisible in the tanks. We can keep watch over the others, no problem."

Mirajane piped up, "Well then! If that's the case...Gajeel. You and Laxus can go back to that room to see if anything else is going on there. Juvia, if you, Pantherlily and Cana can play lookout...then I'll try to distract any other guard and lead them away from the aquarium."

"Sounds like a plan!" Cana extended her hand the the middle of the table. They all joined hands at the middle of the table, and said, not too loudly, "Fairy Tail Team B!"

* * *

It was dark out. Natsu already expressed his disappointment in not even finding Gajeel or Laxus, or anyone in their group, and passed out in the hotel room. Everyone else spent the day at the amusement park, trying out rides and swimming in the pool until dusk. Wendy was exhausted, especially after taking such a nice, relaxing bath at the spa with the other girls. In their hotel room, everyone else was asleep. She could only hear the sounds of the ceiling fan and the waves outside. Still, she couldn't get to sleep.

Wendy looked beside her and saw that Charle was asleep, so she decided to wander around for a while, maybe sit outside the deck and take in the view of the beach until her energy finally went down. She did just that, quietly stepping out of bed and sneaking towards the door, opening and closing it as quietly as she could. For a moment, she was a little nervous, but the peacefulness of the scenery before her calmed her nerves, and she sat down on the little chair and stared out into the ocean.

Then, she heard a weird noise.

Of course it had to happen right as she'd completely relaxed into the chair. But it sounded oddly loud, as if it were close. She stood up to listen again, and heard a strange, menacing laughter. It sounded inhuman, whatever it was, and as it grew closer, she found herself frozen in place for a moment before turning to the door of the hotel room. She needed to get to the others immediately. As Wendy grabbed the door handle and tried to turn it, she gasped, as it was locked. She tried using her key card, but the door wouldn't budge. The laughter became louder and louder, and as loud as it seemed to be, no one in the hotel room would wake up.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt something on her leg. Slowly, Wendy looked down and saw the deck floor was hidden by a black mist. Crawling up her leg was a small, shadowy creature with odd proportions. It's head was bigger than it's little body. It had pointy ears, but there was no face. When it looked up at her, however, it smiled, revealing a large mouth with massive, sharp teeth. She shrieked as it sped up her leg, but again, no one in the hotel room heard her.

* * *

Pantherlily flew in circles around the aquarium entrance. No one was around. There was no one guarding the stairway and no one, from what he could see, directly inside the aquarium. He signaled Juvia the "all clear," and watched as Juvia appeared from the bushes clad in her bikini, sent Pantherlily a thumbs up, and stepped into a pond right beside the entrance. She swapped into her water form, lowering into the pond water as she did, and she was completely invisible, including her bikini, much to the exceed's surprise.

He flew all the way to the opposite end of the aquarium. Another stairway leading to an exit sat hidden away from the park, and there stood the other four. Cana was wearing the aquarium employee's uniform, which she'd replicated with her cards. No one else was around, not a guard in sight. Cana looked inside and saw no one. Pantherlily nodded at Gajeel, and he nodded in return. The dragon slayer knelt down, looking at the lock on the door, and turned his finger into a the shape of a pin, jiggling at the lock until it finally opened. For now, Pantherlily could only hope that this mission would go well.

Juvia was surprised to see how many fish were in this aquarium, but she couldn't let it distract her. Invisible in the tank, Juvia peered out the glass window, looking into the underground building. She could clearly see Cana, standing in the aquarium uniform. She watched as she used her cards to effortlessly put three workers to sleep, much to the rain woman's amusement.

Cana paraded a "crying" Mirajane around, approaching a guard who turned to stop them. Juvia could barely hear them through the glass, but the guard seemed convinced that Mirajane was lost and needed to be escorted out. When the three exited the hallway, Gajeel stepped in. Juvia reappeared in the water and signaled with her hands that it was safe before disappearing again. With that, Gajeel and Laxus were able to get through the hallway and back into the restricted room.

"Holy shit," Gajeel whispered as he opened the door. The room was glowing red, abnormally, and the floor was covered in a dark mist. Laxus instinctively grabbed Gajeel's shoulder and moved him behind himself, hesitantly walking in first.

"Stay behind me," He whispered.

"I don't need _protecting_ , y'know,"Gajeel protested. Laxus sighed.

"I'd feel better knowing you were safe behind me than thinking you were in danger in here. Stay put." Laxus raised his hands at the other, telling him not to move. Gajeel rolled his eyes, but this action went unseen as Laxus was already focused on the room.

"Smells awful," Gajeel said, "Like something's dead."

"Probably worse in here," Laxus nodded, "This is fucking weird."

Laxus motioned for Gajeel to come in, convinced it was safe, and Gajeel did, leaving the door open for Juvia. He was right; it smelled much worse as they got closer to that same corner of the room. It was suspiciously dark, despite the other corners being illuminated by the mysterious red lighting. When Gajeel reached for it, Laxus stopped him quickly.

"What?"

"Don't touch that!"

"Why not?"

"We don't know what that is yet, Gaj," Laxus crossed his arms. Gajeel frowned.

It's probably just dirt on the fucking wall!" He claimed, though Laxus had already turned around to look at the rest of the room. Annoyed, Gajeel kicked a small empty box near his feet towards the corner. It was full of nails, so it made some noise. Laxus jolted, turning to the other. "Are you cra-!?" He said, but stopped as the box of nails had completely phased through the dark wall. They both froze in place, staring at the corner.

"...found something." Gajeel muttered. Laxus knelt down and grabbed a small metal pole leaning on a shelf against the wall. Gajeel stepped back, and carefully, Laxus stuck the pole through the wall, watching in awe as it phased through like nothing. He held the pole in place, trying to see through the shadowy corner, but it was pitch black. After a few seconds he was convinced that it was somewhat safe, but before he could even think of sticking his hand through there, the entire pole was yanked from his hands, quickly being pulled into the wall.

"Shit-!" Laxus fell back. Gajeel stumbled himself as the sudden movement made him jump. Laxus stood up, brushing his pants off and turning to see if Gajeel was okay. After nothing happened for a moment, they heard a loud splash from outside the room, and someone expressing annoyance. Gajeel knew that it was Juvia distracting a guard, and that they needed to go while they had the chance.

They nodded and headed for the door when Gajeel felt his leg getting tugged on. He looked down and saw the mist on the floor rising up around his leg, slightly weighing the man down. Gajeel regained his balance and turned to see what exactly was trying to pull at him, and saw, in the corner, multiple tiny eyes blinking, looking directly at him. He caught his breath as he took in the horrifying sight, and kicked his leg free, shutting the door behind him and nearly falling on Laxus. The other dragon slayer caught him and shushed him, but then noticed the look of fright on his face. "What happened?" he whispered, looking down the hallway hoping no one heard them.

"Something...just looked at me?" Gajeel answered, "Nevermind, it was nothing. We have to get the fuck out of here."

Laxus nodded, grabbing Gajeel's arm and running down the hall while no one was there to catch them. Juvia watched, and swam through the pipes between the tanks, and watched as they safely exited the aquarium. Mirajane and Cana were already there, holding the door open for the other two. Cana shut and locked the door, confidently holding up the keys as they walked up the stairs. "Snagged these from that old man," she said, in reference to the guard, "Never saw it comin'!"

"We should make sure he gets them back…" Mirajane noted, "At least so he doesn't get into trouble, you know."

Pantherlily flew down to his partner, thankful that the two returned in one piece. He'd been worried about their mission, what with their description of what they'd found. He knew Gajeel wouldn't want him to worry, but he did, although he didn't admit it. Gajeel grinned at him proudly and the exceed sighed.

Juvia finally appeared in a pond beside the aquarium entrance. She was in her bikini again, but when she emerged from the water, returning to her regular human state, she was bone dry. They watched as she separated the pond water from her body, the water standing in the air before the mage let it fall back into the pond. Cana pointed finger guns at her, making her blush. "Nice work," Cana complimented, "Kinda thought they were gonna get caught." Laxus and Gajeel groaned. The two were known to be reckless but they weren't the worst ones in the guild. Cana gave Juvia a gentle pat on the head before kissing it, and Juvia smiled, proud that she could be there to ensure everyone's safety.

As they snuck back to the hotel, Laxus noticed that Gajeel looked more uneasy than usual. It was likely the incident in that room, whatever had startled Gajeel just before they left the aquarium. They were walking behind everyone else, and, knowing that no one was looking, Laxus wrapped his arm around Gajeel's waist, pulling him closer. Gajeel looked at him, grimacing a bit, and then looked back into space. "You...alright?" Laxus whispered. Gajeel just nodded, "Mmm." He didn't say anything throughout their walk and he didn't make much eye contact. Tough as he tried to appear, Laxus could tell Gajeel had been startled down there. Was he still scared? What exactly did he see? Whatever it was, it was certainly more than 'nothing.'

He wasn't gonna let Gajeel smother it and move on. When they got back to the hotels and everyone else was in their respective rooms, Laxus and Gajeel stood on the balcony, by Laxus' hotel room. Before opening the door, he faced Gajeel, and Gajeel sighed quietly, biting his lip, as it he saw this talk coming. "You aren't scared, are ya?" Laxus asked. Gajeel groaned, scratching his head. Finally Laxus opened the door and let the other walk in first. He shut the door behind him, keeping his eyes on Gajeel.

"I mean I ain't gonna judge ya...if that's the case," Laxus said, "Not like it wasn't creepy down there."

"I'm not...goddamn," Gajeel held the bridge of his nose. His heart was racing, and Laxus saw beams of sweat appear on his forehead, "I saw...somethin' was grabbing me. It was pulling me back in the room. I saw for a moment...that corner...there were like a million eyes just looking right at me, 'nd it was pulling back in that fucking room..!" He held his head, shutting his eyes, "I just can't fucking get the image out of my head."

"...You wanna sleep here again?"

Gajeel looked at Laxus, lowering his hands and tilting his head to the side."Yeah, yeah," He admitted, "And I'm not afraid of that thing, by the way, I'm just freaked out."

"I believe ya'." Laxus teased, patting Gajeel's shoulder and ushering him to the bedroom, "You should shower first, then come to bed. I'll be here waiting."

"Okay."

Laxus rested back on the bed and waited, turning on the little lacrima television hanging against the wall across from the bed. He relaxed and flipped through the little channels they had to offer. Gajeel took a hot shower, with nothing on his mind but whatever that creature was grabbing him. Normally he wouldn't react like this, and he knew that. He'd certainly faced worse monsters than whatever that was, but something in the back of his mind told him that whatever that was, it should alarm him. He heard Laxus yawn from the shower and was pulled from those thoughts. He thought about Laxus; how much he'd worried about him today, this morning and now. He really just wanted to be in the room with him again, they didn't even _have_ to have sex.

The process was slow and somewhat painful, but he liked just being with Laxus. Their relationship blossomed into something he thought would never be as beautiful as it was. Before they got to know each other they were enemies. Their massive fight so long ago, when Laxus attempted to take over the guild and blamed Gajeel for it's apparent weakness had pretty much disappeared since the Grand Magic Games, when they finally got the opportunity to actually talk, and in private.

He remembered sitting in the big hotel room. He was alone. Everyone was at a bar celebrating. Pantherlily was hanging out with everyone, and the dragon slayer managed to slip out without alerting him. While everyone was drunk and full of energy, Gajeel was exhausted. He wasn't expecting Laxus to feel the same way. But the other mage didn't quite like loud, drunk parties, either. "Oh,"Laxus said, expecting to be alone, "You turnin' in early, too?"

Gajeel looked up from his bed, surprised that Laxus even acknowledged him, "Uh, yeah."

"...I have to admit," Laxus spoke as he removed his coat, tossing it on the bed, "I was pretty impressed with you out there. Wasn't expecting you to go 'nd eat someone else's magic like that."

"What else could I do?" Gajeel shrugged, smirking confidently, "'Sides, didn't taste _too_ bad."

"Still had your ass handed to you."

"Hey." Gajeel glared at the other, "That stone guy kicked your ass, too."

"Well," Laxus rolled his eyes. They sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn't as awkward as either was expecting. It was comfortable-almost relieving that they could sit in a room without getting agitated or trying to pick a fight. They talked some more, but Gajeel couldn't remember much of the conversation.

How did they get here? How much did Laxus like him that whole time? Gajeel had his doubts, but he was pretty sure Laxus loved him now that they were actually together, but Gajeel was-and still is-astonished that Laxus was even interested in him. He was glad he did in the end, at least enough to tolerate being with him for a month. Before he could start worrying about how long it would last, Gajeel shut the water off and stepped out the shower. He didn't want to get too lost in his thoughts and ruin the time with Laxus that he had now.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The young dragon slayer slept the entire time. Unconscious, unmoving, carried by the tiny, inhuman beings that took her from the hotel. There were five, one wasn't helping the group of four carrying the girl through the corridors. They marched behind their tiny leader, who held a large stick with sharp ends, similar to a pitchfork. The one in front spoke, but it only uttered squeaks, and they other four laughed the same laugh the dragon slayers had heard before. It was loud, but none woke the little slayer they carried.

The hallway was dark, only lit by dim ceiling lights that looked as though they'd burn out any moment, giving the room a red tint. The walls had dark stains, cracks and chipped paint, and there were pipes and wires along the walls and ceiling. When one of the beings spoke, it's squeaks echoed through the musty corridor. At the end was a large metal door, locked from the outside. The leader spoke aloud, and the door slowly opened, it's creaks echoing loudly as it revealed the massive room behind it. They carried Wendy into an even darker room, and shut the door behind them.

The lights turned on, illuminating the room with a red tint. There were more of those creatures everywhere. Some were larger than others, and many didn't share the bulbous round shape as the ones spotted by Gajeel and Laxus. Some had short bodies, but long faces with many eyes, and others stood taller, with many limbs. Some flew around with wings of various sizes. The notable ones, however, were the most terrifying; One took on a spider like form, and was massive, barely seen and hiding in the shadows above the room, and another was a more mist-like creature that resembled a centipede, and on its face were many, many, blinking eyes.

That creature sat on the lap of someone, a human. Rather, a human-like figure, covering their form with a long, black, tattered cape. Three red eyes opened on the figure, as he looked down at the unconscious dragon slayer below the throne.

All the monsters in the room turned to look at the group, and the small leader spoke. It's voice was high pitched, nearly inaudible, and it's language was foreign. The figure in the chair seemed to understand what was being said, however he huffed, slamming his fists on the arms of the throne in obvious disappointment.

"What is it you have bought me, exactly?" He spoke, in a deep, gruff voice. The small creature below gestured to her, speaking again. Once it ceased talking the figure appeared to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"You bought me. The **_WRONG DRAGON SLAYER!_** " He screamed, his voice echoing throughout the chambers. the room began to shake, yet only the smaller creatures in the room were phased. The massive one on his lap didn't move an inch. The little group carrying Wendy trembled as the man sighed, relaxing back into his seat. The centipede-like being turned slightly to them, opening it's many glowing eyes and staring at them curiously.

"Return that _thing_ , immediately," He points a finger towards the door, demandingly, "And do it before anyone finds out. You will be severely punished for this mistake."

* * *

Crying?

Gajeel woke up that night to the sound of someone crying. It was probably a child, but he felt a shiver down his spine when he heard it again. It sounded all too familiar. It was squeaky, inhuman, and too much like the laughter he'd heard at the aquarium. He sat up, looking around the room, only to find nothing. Just Laxus, sleeping.

Before he got the chance to lay back down he'd heard it again, and he immediately stood up, listening for where it was coming from. He had a bad feeling in his gut but something told him to investigate. Laxus woke up as Gajeel had suddenly emerged from the bed. "Babe?" He said sleepily, "Where're you going…?"

"I can hear it again."

Laxus looked at him. Gajeel heard voices again. Biting his lip, he too stood from the bed and followed the other dragon slayer outside the bedroom. It wasn't laughter this time-it was crying for sure. And as they got closer to the door the weeping got louder, as though it were in their ears. They stood by the door while it was silent, and Gajeel could hear something scurry down the deck towards their door. He exhaled, and grabbed the doorknob, planning to knock down whoever was making the noise. But as it reached the door, he noticed that whatever it was, it wasn't stopping for them. The crying would continue away from the door, and left earshot shortly after.

Gajeel let go of the door, his hand shaking slightly. Laxus grabbed his shoulder, calming him. "What the fuck is going on…" Gajeel asked, not to anyone in particular. Laxus shook his head, turning the other to look at him.

"Get some sleep," Laxus said, ushering him back to the bedroom, "We've been up all night, let's just focus on enjoying ourselves, tomorrow, okay?"

Still unsure, Gajeel nodded, letting Laxus lead him back to bed.

* * *

The morning came early and loud. Although she thought she'd gotten up early enough for a peaceful breakfast, it seemed the fire dragon slayer couldn't be kept at bay any longer. Lucy sighed, defeated, eating what was left of her omelette while she watched Natsu and Gray fight over the breakfast buffet at the hotel.

Erza spotted Lucy and waved, but before saying anything, she spotted the commotion and groaned. "To think we were doing so well," She complained, "I'll break it up, Lucy." The mage stretched her arms out and stormed towards the two. There was yelling, then there was Erza yelling, and then dead silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Erza returned with a stack of strawberry pancakes drenched in syrup and covered in whipped cream. She was humming, happily surprised that such a treat was served here. Lucy grinned, of course, not very surprised by her friend's sweet tooth.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

Lucy perked up as she heard Charle and Wendy talking behind her. They walked up to the buffet and sat at the same booth as Lucy and Erza. Lucy greeted the young dragonslayer, but frowned as she got a look at her face; she looked quite shaken, as if she'd just woken up from a nightmare. "Is something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"I...I saw something last night...something... _creepy_ ," Wendy answered, "D-did no one hear me yell?"

"What? I was asleep the whole time," Erza said, shocked, "Were you in danger?"

"I must've been-I mean, I th-think so…there was...a...a mist-a black mist, and something grabbed at my legs and...that's all I remember."

"Apparently she left the hotel last night," Charle shrugged, "I wouldn't have let her if I had been awake, but she woke up this morning in bed, so I don't know what to believe."

"I'm not lying!" Wendy frowned, "I'm serious, something grabbed my legs!"

"We believe you, Wendy," Charle reassured her, nodding, "We just don't understand...the circumstances...you're sure it wasn't just a nightmare?"

"...My dragon senses are all over the place, I don't know what to believe, either," Wendy sunk back into the chair. Lucy extended her arm out to pat the other's head in guilt, wishing she'd been awake to at least see something.

"Why don't we eat something?" Charle suggested, flying over the table, "Looks like they actually have nice food here."

Instead of separating, they decided to spend the day together as a group. Mirajane convinced the dragon slayers to actually go on the beach, and the two watched as the others played some volleyball. Gajeel and Laxus sat on a beach towel, watching Pantherlily-in his larger form-draw out the court lines in the sand before they began playing. Laxus turned to Gajeel, who looked out into the ocean. He frowned as he got a look at the other man's face. Gajeel seemed distant, and less like himself since that morning. Hesitantly, Laxus waved a hand in Gajeel's face to get his attention, and Gajeel was sent back to reality. He looked down at Laxus, who rested on his side beside him.

"You gonna be on edge all day?"

"Probably." Gajeel adjusted his position, facing Laxus, "I just don't feel good about this anymore."

"..That so?" Laxus asked, disappointment apparent in his tone. Gajeel averted his eyes, looking back at his friends. Juvia spiked the volleyball over the court and it hit the ground before anyone could react, impressing everyone and earning a loud cheer from Cana. "They seem to be having fun."

"...Yeah."

"That not what you wanted?"

"No-Yes I...I wanted _this_ , I did," Gajeel's eyebrows furrowed as he spectated the others, "I wanted _this_. I did that mission 'nd got the damn tickets so they could actually enjoy themselves, y'know what I mean? They're my...my friends. I think they're the only ones I can open myself up to."

That statement was surprising to Laxus. Gajeel wasn't known for admitting things like that, but Laxus listened, somewhat proud of the other. "Look," Laxus sat up, "I'm getting bad vibes from those noises too, but I don't want these last few days to be about that. It'll go away, and we'll be fine." He wasn't sure about what he just said, and didn't know for sure if the voices would leave, but he held Gajeel's shoulders reassuringly. Their faces were close. "If something happens, I will keep you safe. Okay?"

What the fuck? Gajeel felt his face burn. It was like he was falling in love with the man again. Their lips locked and Gajeel's eyes fluttered shut. He was lost in their kiss, allowing himself to be pushed down against the beach towel. Laxus broke the kiss, and looked down at an uncharacteristically stunned Gajeel, grinning, "Okay?"

"O-Okay.." Gajeel said in a shaky tone.

"Oooooh~"

Gajeel and Laxus looked over and blushed. Cana was making a kissy face, and Mirajane was swooning. Gajeel rolled his eyes and relaxed against the ground, pulling a magazine over his face while Laxus laughed. He rested back on the towel and grabbed Gajeel's hand. Gajeel hid his face under the magazine, but tightened his own grip, not even thinking about anyone else on the beach. He did this for his friends, but he really just wanted to spend time with Laxus.

It was certainly a surprise, seeing Laxus and Gajeel kiss in public. It was especially surprising for the ice mage, watching from the boardwalk, initially not expecting anything to happen. He stared, frozen in shock as Gajeel was knocked over by the kiss. They were kissing. _Passionately_. Laxus and Gajeel were together, and Natsu was right. How was he supposed to tell him that?

Gray never liked when Natsu was right, but this was something he expected the least. He didn't care much for whatever Natsu was curious about, and thought that Laxus was just sick or something. He certainly didn't assume Laxus liked men-or anyone, for that matter-and he certainly didn't assume he liked Gajeel of all people. Gajeel likes him back, to top it all off. That meant Gajeel liked men as well. Gray felt his head spin and he sat on a bench further away from Team B's sight, processing what he'd just whitnessed.

That was it. That was their secret.

After a moment of thinking, Gray realized that this was something he couldn't tell Natsu, even if he knew Natsu assumed something, he couldn't tell him. He wouldn't tell the girls either. This wasn't something he was supposed to know about in the first place, but he knew it'd be best to keep it a secret, for his own sake...and for theirs. Laxus and Gajeel were his friends, too.

* * *

"Screw this!" Natsu yelled, exasperated, slamming brand new binoculars on the cement ground and stamping on them. Happy flew down to his side, watching the destruction of cheap binoculars below them. It was the afternoon, and after a long morning of nothing and having no one else to help him, Natsu finally gave up.

"Natsu...we aren't getting anywhere with the investigation." Happy whined. Natsu groaned loudly.

"I KNOW…" He huffed, kicking a metal fence, only to stub his toes and hop around in pain. He plopped himself on a nearby bench, resting his head in his hands as he slouched over. Happy sighed, looking up at a large sign over a flight of stairs leading to an underground portion of Spirit Park. He perked up, turning to Natsu suddenly and shaking the dragon slayer out of his thoughts.

"Maybe we should go to the aquarium!" Happy said, excitedly pointing at the staircase leading down to the large aquarium doors.

"Huh?" Natsu looked up curiously, as though he were never annoyed. He jumped up from the bench and ran towards the stairs. Through the doors, he and Happy could clearly see the active aquarium, and Natsu excitedly burst the doors open. "Heck yeah!" He yelled, "Happy, let's find some big fish!"

"I could eat a big fish…" Happy said, patting his stomach as it growled before being suddenly pulled down the hallway through the aquarium.

Unfortunately for the other guests, Natsu had little respect for public space, and willingly pushed his way through crowds just to get a good view of every single fish. He was loud and rough, and he was impatient. They stopped at every stand, buying bright yellow shirts with a shark graphic printed on them, and large, neon pink squid hats they wore proudly. The pair grew more and more excited, and Natsu had almost completely forgotten about the original purpose of coming to Spirit Park. That is, until he saw Gajeel.

They stood at the corner, hoping to god they weren't spotted by the other. Natsu bit his lip, shutting up as the two waited for Gajeel to leave. What was he doing here by himself. Natsu peeked out and watched Gajeel looking around. He'd just stepped out of another hallway, and he was looking around. He sighed before leaving the aquarium. Natsu stared and watched, dumbfounded. "Huh?" He said, mouth hanging open, "What's...What's he doin' down here?"

"Laxus isn't here," Happy observed, "He's by himself."

They paused before curiosity finally overtook the pair. They 'snuck' past the crowd, although their bright clothes made them look obvious, until they reached the hallway Gajeel just left. The hallway was short, and a dead end. It was clearly a space for management only, and their suspicions were confirmed by the sign on the one door reading so. Natsu looked back out of the hallway, confused. What would Gajeel be doing here? He remembered Gajeel looking around, clearly in a space he wasn't supposed to be...perhaps he was hiding something in here. Maybe it would give Natsu a lead in his investigation.

Natsu was stopped by his companion just before he opened the door. "Natsu," Happy whined, "We aren't supposed to be in there!"

"C'mon, Happy, I wanna see what metal-head is up to!" Natsu cheered, slightly whispering loud enough for the exceed and maybe a few other patrons to hear, "'Sides, aren't'cha up to an adventure?"

With that, Natsu opened the door. To his immediate disappointment, there wasn't anything spectacular. The only thing presenting itself was a dusty old storage closet. Still, Natsu stepped in, shutting the door behind him and Happy, and was quick to start rummaging through everything. Happy flew around the small room, looking for suspicious cracks and bumps along the walls until he, too, saw something interesting. No luck.

He floated back down to Natsu's side, "Nothing up there," he said, "Just a bunch of empty crates and rusty pipes."

"Damn...wait," Natsu lit up as he saw something in the corner of his eye, "What's...that?"

Natsu pointed at a corner, hidden behind a few plastic crates. There was a crack-an unnatural crack-in the wall, and it was black, catching no light. Natsu looked at Happy and grinned before going towards it, moving the boxes and crates until the crack was completely visible. "That's weird," Natsu whispered, still grinning. Happy shivered, his tail going up.

"You don't sense anything...bad about that?" He asked. Natsu turned to him with an eyebrow raised.

"No, I just-"

Natsu stopped, as if interrupted. His face turned back quickly towards the crack, and he stared at it. "What is it?" Happy asked, not quite sure of the situation. His pupils constricted as he stared, wide-eyed, into the crack. He heard a loud, inhuman noise; laughter. It echoed through the room, and it rang through the dragon slayer's ears. He stood up, slowly, and looked back at the exceed.

"Is something wrong, Natsu?" Happy heard _nothing_. Natsu stood saying nothing in response until the room was finally silent.

"We have to leave."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"So no one can see it but us!?"

Laxus decided to have everyone meet up in his' hotel room that evening. Although Laxus wasn't much for company and Gajeel was really the only one he'd normally let in, his room was the cleanest, and he'd rather host the meeting than sit in a room with clothes and shoes everywhere. Not to mention, with everything becoming more and more serious, the group needed to actually sit down and figure things out. Throughout the day he and Gajeel had been hearing noises, either briefly or for a long period of time. While the lightning mage could keep his composure, Gajeel felt as though he were on the verge of insanity. Gajeel was freaking out, and the rest of the group struggled to keep the mage calm while they tried to figure out what to do next.

"Relax, Gaj," Laxus hushed the other, gently pushing Gajeel down the bed by his shoulders, "We're dragon slayers. Our senses are better and we can see and hear these things more than the rest of them. That means I can see them too, y'know, it's not like you're going crazy."

"Yeah?" Gajeel snarled, "Do you know how fucking LOUD they are, Laxus!? EVERYONE in this whole ass park should be able to hear them!"

"Gajeel-kun," Juvia called, but was cut short.

"I've been hearing those stupid voices all day. All _FUCKING DAY_. I snuck out to see if there was anything going on in that room, and I didn't even see anything in that corner. It was fucking gone! Whatever 'opening' that was there was gone, the mist was gone and the lights were... _normal_! Almost like nothing even fucking happened!"

"...We need to get to the bottom of this." Pantherlily spoke up, "Somethings happening in this park, and it may even be dangerous for other people to be staying here, but I don't even know for sure what it is."

"Let's inform the park and keep investigating," Mira said, "They might even let us stay a while longer and give us time to figure stuff out."

Gajeel fell back, laying against the bed, groaning and holding the sides of his head. "This is a pain in the ass," he complained, "I can hear it again. It's like I'm gettin' stabbed in the forehead." Laxus looked down at his partner and exhaled, reaching out and holding his head, running his fingers down his hair until Gajeel looked up at him. The room sat silent, the only thing being heard was Gajeel's shaky breathing. Laxus parted his mouth, narrowing his brows. He was freezing and pale, as if he were sick. Gajeel bit his lip, watching Laxus' concerned expression grow worse, and he finally shot up from the bed, pushing past his friends and shut the bathroom door behind him, locking it.

He stood over the sink, shivering, feeling like he was about to throw up. Gajeel hadn't felt this anxious in years, but hairs on his body were standing and his screaming migraine hadn't ceased. What was going on? Was he actually sick? His arms began shaking, struggling to carry his weight over the sink when he heard noises again. Whispering. Chatter. It overlapped and grew louder and louder, feeling as though it were scratching at his brain and Gajeel shut his eyes, silently begging for whatever the noise was to stop. When it finally did, there was nothing but a ringing in his ear, and he opened his eyes, blinded by the brightly lit bathroom. His vision was blurry and he couldn't hear his friends calling him from the other side of the bathroom door, and he finally lost his footing, falling over the toilet and heaving.

Laxus jumped off the bed the moment he heard Gajeel fall over. When he tried opening the bathroom door with no luck, he started knocking, loudly calling out his name. The others followed, Pantherlily trying to peek under the door. He could see Gajeel's legs as he was kneeling over the toilet, and he stood in shock as he slowly realized what was going on. Laxus eventually forced the door open, breaking the doorknob as he did, and immediately knelt by Gajeel's side, pulling thick locks of black hair away from his face as the dragon slayer threw up. Cana held a hand up, stopping Juvia from getting too close to them, and Mirajane quickly grabbed a towel, standing behind Laxus and waiting for Gajeel to finish.

She held in her breath. Gajeel's state was quite terrifying. When he finished, he nearly fainted, letting Laxus catch him and hold his head up. Laxus took the towel from Mirajane and began cleaning his partner's face. Gajeel was even paler than moments before, and his eyes and cheeks were stained red. He could barely open his eyes, struggling to look up at everyone scrambling to get help. He couldn't hear clearly, either, but he cold tell Laxus was trying to speak to him. Gajeel blacked out in the man's arms seconds later, and Laxus lifted him up and carried him out of the bathroom and into the bed.

"Fuck," Laxus said, pulling at the back of his head, "fuck, fuck, fuck-"

"There's doctors coming now," Juvia spoke, interrupting Laxus' brief freak out. Laxus looked at her for a moment, then nodded, turning back to the unconscious form on the hotel bed. Gajeel was feverish, sweating and wheezing. Laxus reached over to remove the other's shirt and let him breathe, but he was stopped. The laughter returned, loud in his ears, muting every other noise around him. He looked around the room, only to see nothing. Juvia watched, slowly understanding what was going on, despite not being able to hear anything at all.

"Laxus-kun?" She called, getting no response. She reached to touch his shoulder, and before she could Laxus jumped up, suddenly, turning and staring at her. Juvia jolted backwards, pulling her hand back. Laxus gritted his teeth, his hair, too, was standing on end, and the slightest movements Juvia made towards Laxus startled him.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I hear it again."

"Laughing?"

"Yeah."

"...Does it make you sick as well? Like Gajeel-kun?"

"...No," Laxus answered, squinting, "...It doesn't."

Then why did it affect Gajeel as much as it did? Perhaps, being a first generation dragon slayer, Gajeel might have been able to pick up senses much more efficiently than Laxus, but something seemed...off. Gajeel's had a sensory overload, but now he's fallen ill. Nothing was adding up as Laxus thought about it. He thought about the back room in the aquarium again, and what Gajeel had seen. When he went down alone-for god knows what reason-he found nothing. However...when they went together the night before...Laxus remembered Gajeel being nearly dragged in, and he remembered Gajeel describing the thing looking at him from the corner. It never even touched Laxus and didn't even look at him.

Whatever was going on, whoever was doing this, they were after Gajeel.

* * *

"I swear! I saw something in the aquarium we need to look at right now!"

"What did you see, fish?"

Everyone returned to the hotel at around nine o'clock that evening. Natsu demanded they all group up in the girls' hotel room. Wendy was partially asleep on the bed. Erza and Lucy sat at the edge of the same bed while Gray sat on the floor between the two beds in the room. Natsu stood up, pacing around the bedroom. Gray had a hard time believing Natsu had seen something so important he needed to hold a "Team A meeting" in the girls' room.

"I'm freakin' tellin' ya'! This isn't about some fish," Natsu yelled, glaring at his comrade, "Happy and I went to the aquarium and saw Gajeel down there, doin' something suspicious-"

"I thought I said we were done snooping on Gajeel and the rest?" Erza spoke up, interrupting Natsu. He groaned, rolling his eyes as she continued, "We can't just invade their privacy just because we're curious, we shouldn't even be here to begin with!"

"Well you agreed to it, didn't you!?" Natsu rebutted, silencing her, "That wasn't even why we were down there, but we saw metal-head bein' all sneaky so we got curious. We went in the storage room and in the corner...something...it kind of looked like a crack!"

"...There was a crack in the corner," Gray scoffed.

"It wasn't just a fucking crack, Gray!"

"Let him speak," Lucy said, showing some concern in her expression as she looked on at the dragon slayer. He huffed before continuing, stress prevalent on his face.

"It wasn't just a crack, it didn't look natural at all. Then I...I heard laughing. Happy didn't hear anything, but it sounded like someone-something-was giggling in my ears! But I didn't see anything...but then I felt chills. Up my spine. Something's going on down there."

"Wait!"

They all turned to see Wendy, now sitting up on the bed. She ignored the audience, looking straight at Natsu. "You heard laughing too?"

"Yeah! It was ringin' in my ears!"

"That...was what I heard...I heard laughing, too," Wendy spoke, standing from the bed, "And some weird black mist surrounded my feet, and then something pulled me down and that's...that's all I can remember from last night."

The group simultaneously realized that they both may have been telling the truth. Lucy shivered at the thought of something creepy happening at the park. If it were magic they were dealing with, it was certainly a weird type of magic. They'd dealt with demons from the book of Zeref, and Lucy thought for a moment that it had something to do with that, but one couldn't be so sure. Erza fell back against the bed, sighing exasperatedly, "And here I thought I could actually have a vacation for once."

"The aquarium's probably closed," Lucy said, "But if Wendy saw some activity here...we might still be able to investigate."

"This is becoming a pressing matter," Erza spoke up, sitting upright again, "If Gajeel might know something about it, they probably all do. We should stop hiding from them and let them know immediately." The mage stood, magic surrounding her. She went from her pajamas to clad in her usual blue skirt and armor top. They all looked at her as she spoke again, "Let's go now. We shouldn't wait much longer."

They exited the bedroom and headed for the door to the hotel when suddenly, from the window, Happy noticed a group of people running towards the other side of the long balcony, to a flight of stairs, led by a familiar face. "Over here! This way" The leader said, their voice sounding desperate, "He's up here, on _this_ floor!"

"Guys!" Happy stopped them, "That's Mira!"

Erza paused, looking at him, then turned back towards the window mouth agape. It was Mirajane indeed, and she was followed by Cana, and two other people in familiar uniforms. They were doctors. Erza opened the door and followed the group upstairs to the hotel. As they reached the room, Erza called out to them, and Cana turned around first and sighed, thankful that they were there although not questioning their presence. "Thank fucking god," She exhaled, "It's Gajeel, he blacked out!"

"What!?" They said in unison. Mirajane ran up to them as the doctors entered the hotel room.

"Guys!" Mira called, "Gajeel's unconscious. We think he's sick. Well…"

"Something crazy's going on and I think it's startin' t' get into Gajeel's head," Cana said, "He threw up and fucking blacked out."

"So you all know about it already," Erza said, somewhat relieved, "How has it affected him?"

"He said he heard laughing, 'nd then he said he had a headache, locked himself in the bathroom 'nd started throwing up-"

"Laxus heard stuff as well," Mira chimed in, "Over the past couple of days. Yesterday Gajeel and Laxus saw something at the aquarium, and so we snuck in last night. There's something in the back room, some kind of 'mist,' but I haven't seen it-no one else has-and we haven't heard anything either. Just Laxus and Gajeel."

"I HEARD IT TOO!" Natsu yelled out, "And i saw stuff in that same room! I knew I wasn't freakin' crazy!"

"Where is Gajeel now?" Erza asked.

"In here," Mira nodded, motioning to Laxus' hotel room, "This is Laxus' room. We were all in here when it happened."

As they went in they noticed the tiny living room was empty, meaning they were all crowded in the bedroom. Erza motioned for Natsu, Happy, Gray and Lucy to stay, but instructed for Wendy and Charle to come with her, as she knew more about what was going on and wouldn't be in the was as much as the other dragon slayer. When Erza, Charle and Wendy entered the room, they first noticed Cana and Juvia standing together in one corner. The rainwoman looked on worriedly, biting her lip as the doctors began caring for Gajeel. Gajeel was resting on the single bed, and Laxus stood right next to it. Mirajane moved towards them, standing by Laxus and watching the doctors as well. It was certainly a crowded room.

One of the doctors wore all blue, the other in all purple. The one in purple was a mage and a healer, and she waved a hand over Gajeel's head, relaxing his breathing. The other stood by, handing them supplies and checking Gajeel's pulse regularly. She eventually turned to Laxus, asking what had happened, and Erza finally got a good look at Gajeel.

He was certainly a sight for sore eyes. He was pale, and his cheeks were rosy, he was sweating and his lips were quivering. This wasn't the state Erza had expected Gajeel of all people to be in. Juvia walked up to her, grasping her arm to get her attention. "Hello," she greeted softly. Erza smiled, calmed by her sweet presence, though, the other mage looked pretty worried.

"Laxus-kun...he said Gajeel-kun's dragon senses had overwhelmed him," Juvia whispered, "Juvia does not quite know what that means, but Juvia is scared for her friend."

"I'm sure he'll pull through," Erza calmed her, placing a hand on her forehead, "He's probably been through worse."

Juvia smiled slightly.

The doctors stepped back, and the one in purple motioned for the one in blue to speak to the others before she started talking to Laxus. The second doctor removed her mask, greeting the rest of the group before she began explaining the situation.

"Your friend is in stable condition," She began, "But he needs to stay here and rest. It appears many of his symptoms are signs of a major panic attack, but we are unable to find a direct cause at the moment. He'll regain consciousness soon, but when he does, we suggest that he stays in bed for a while."

Mirajane nodded. The doctor returned to her partner, checking over Gajeel before finally leaving the hotel room. Laxus sighed, sitting by the bed and looking over the other dragon slayer. He looked calmer, breathing at a steadier rate and without wheezing, and he wasn't sweating. _Thank god._ He couldn't believe what had just happened. The doctors weren't able to link it to a natural illness and Laxus was sure it had something to do with what they'd been dealing with. He hadn't heard anything all day aside from that morning-it was actually kind of peaceful until that afternoon, when they heard it again, and again, and again for the rest of the day.

Laxus looked up to see Mirajane right by him, and caught Wendy and Erza at the corner of his eye. He noticed the white exceed float behind Wendy and peer out too look at him. Laxus stared at them for a short while, and Wendy bit her lip. He stood, keeping his attention on the two of them. "What are you three doing here?"

"...Long story," Erza sighed, "But I believe Wendy's been hearing the same thing you and Gajeel have. Natsu as well."

"It HAS to be because you're dragon slayers," Pantherlily suggested, "No one else has heard or seen a single thing."

Laxus crossed his arms. "So? What did you hear?"

Wendy looked to her side, "I heard...laughing. Last night. I went out on the balcony to get some air when I heard it. Then I saw a dark mist at my feet. No one else in the hotel could hear it, and that's all I can remember."

Laughter. A dark mist. Wendy heard and saw the same things Laxus and Gajeel had. There was something going on that only they could see, and only they could hear. Pantherlily was right; it definitely had something to do with the dragon slayers. Though, Laxus wondered again why it affected Gajeel as much as it did. It was almost as if he were being targeted. He tightened his fist as he thought. Whatever it was, Laxus wanted to get to the bottom of it fast, and before anyone else at the park got hurt.

He left the bedroom and met the eyes of Gray, Lucy and Natsu. "...You're all here?" He asked in a suspicious tone. Natsu glared at him in response.

"'Course we are!" Natsu said, "We CAME because-"

"-We heard about what was going on," Lucy interrupted the other, punching his arm, "And we wanted to know if you heard the same thing too."

Somehow, Laxus didn't fully believe that. His mind was too focused on Gajeel, however. The iron mage been on edge all day, and Laxus felt partially guilty for not doing anything about it. He was sure Gajeel would be fine, but the way he suddenly switched from normal to completely ill and comatose was startling especially for him. This was like a nightmare and all he wanted to do right now was lay down next to Gajeel until he woke up, but he knew he had to stop this before it got worse. It even affected Wendy, who he definitely didn't want to see getting hurt. She walked out of the bedroom with Charle, leaving Erza with Cana, Juvia and Mirajane.

"Natsu's been hearing the same stuff too," Wendy spoke as she stepped out of the bedroom, "He said he heard laughing, too. And even found something in the storage room of the aquarium."

"...Shit," Laxus said under his breath, "Then we have to investigate. All of us. Let's inform the park of what's going on, now, before something else happens to anyone else."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! Here's another update. There's a lot of characters, so I wanted to warn you that there will be a ton of dialogue between multiple characters in the next few chapters. And in case you haven't caught on yet...surprise! Horror!**

 **I've already written three more chapters as I'm uploading this, and I plan to keep the rate of having multiple chapters finished before updating again. So far there's definitely gonna be more than 15 chapters. Again, I want to warn you for torture, gore and other NSFW themes in the future. This isn't just a sappy romance fic anymore! :3c**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Laughter roared through the corridors and hallways. It echoed, causing pipes to shake and hung light bulbs to swing on the ceiling. The noise lead to the massive dark room, and the man in the throne held a large, levitating lacrima. It gave him a clear view of the inside of Laxus' hotel room. He watched Gajeel as he spoke to his friends, sitting in a circle in the bedroom. The man raised a hand up, pointing a finger, revealing a sharp talon, at Gajeel's face.

He tapped the glass of the lacrima and created a small magic circle in his hand. Grinning, he closed his hand into a fist, activating the magic, and watching the lacrima for a few moments before Gajeel ran off into the bathroom. He laughed as the dragon slayer quickly grew sick with insanity, blacking out from the pain. He tapped the lacrima again.

"Do you see that?" He said, "THAT is the dragon slayer that I want, do you hear? I want this one. It interests me much more than that silly blue haired one, or even the bigger one with lightning. I want THIS one."

He looked up at the ceiling. The group of creatures that had brought the wrong dragon slayers were hanging by their feet, crying out to the man in the throne as he scowled at them. He placed the lacrima on a carved, bronze pedestal beside his throne, and he stood, eyes on the beings hanging above.

"You filthy ingrates can't seem to understand that," He said, teeth clenched, hands in fists, "I make perfect beings. They do as I say and they don't get _anything_ wrong. They are all wonderful, and they fulfill their purposes with no problems, no issues...yet...not only did one of you manage to get CAUGHT by a dragon slayer, you imperfections brought me the incorrect one...and that is worth a punishment I would only give to creations yet to be perfected."

With that, he used the same hand to summon another magic circle, far above himself but just below the creatures hanging from the ceiling. When his hand became a fist, the magic circle opened up into a bright orange portal. Screams from the creatures hanging above could be heard throughout the room. They swung around desperately before suddenly, the chains attached to their feet disappeared, and they were sent through the portal-like vat, burned in the conjured fire.

Finally, the portal was shut, and the room was darkened again. There was no more screaming or crying, just silence. The eyes of hundreds of other creatures, large and small, were on him. The scent of burnt flesh became more and more apparent within the room. He laughed as the screaming came to a sudden stop, somewhat satisfied with the deed, though he stopped suddenly, looking back into the lacrima still projecting the events at Spirit Park.

He stared into it, groaning as Gajeel's friends had quickly come to his aid. "Look at them," he said to the massive centipede creature as it crawled around the throne and onto his lap, it's many eyes staring into the orb, "Desperate to help their friend as if he would die. Of course I would not be so foolish as to kill it, I want it in my possession. Don't you see, my lovely creation?"

The man looked around him. His audience paid close attention to him as the lacrima zoomed into Gajeel's unconscious form. The man grinned, "He is the most interesting...his magic compared to the other dragon slayers is quite unique...and quite powerful. I want that magic. And when I have that magic, my creations will be even more efficient than before. I will have warriors, capable of taking down this god-forsaken country. I will be the dictator of this sorrowful land, and perhaps...I can take more than Fiore...but we must think small, for now."

He sat back in his chair, petting the centipede, "Yes, for now, We focus on that dragon slayer."

* * *

"What were you guys doing here, anyways?"

By the time the group left to find the owner, everything in the park was closed for the evening. It was dark, aside for some streetlights, which gave Lucy the creeps. Everything about this was weird; the owner had property by the park in which he lived, and it was quite lavish and massive, though none of them have ever seen the man. She also had no idea what was even going on; the only ones that had a clue were the dragon slayers, and the one that might know the most information was unconscious. Juvia, Mirajane and Wendy stayed with him, while everyone else left to sort things out with the owner. Lucy wasn't quite sure how this would go. Worried, she turned to Cana to try to strike up a conversation on the way there.

However, she forgot she wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.

"Oh! Uh...well, we heard about Spirit Park, and uh, we wanted to spend some time here ourselves, y'know?" She answered, fidgeting with her fingers, "I-It was pretty hot back in Magnolia...so…"

"...Uh huh," Cana nodded, "Sounds pretty fishy."

"What's so fishy about that?"

"Just the tone 's all," Cana rolled her eyes, "What's the real reason, blondie?"

"Eh…"

"We're here."

Erza stopped them. They reached the corner of the park, standing in front of metal gates. It was right by the ocean, and to their left they could see the beach. Looking up past the gates was a hill with some overgrown stairs, and a lavish house was lit up at the top with lights from the inside. It was currently occupied, making Erza a little more confident.

"Let's go then," she said, trying to open the gates but failing. It was locked, and there was a movement-activated camera that turned immediately towards her. The camera had a screen below it, showing a mirrored reflection of the mage. She looked at it curiously. There was a speaker below the screen, and through it came the scratchy voice of an older man.

"Halt!" the voice came suddenly, stopping the mage, "Who are you lot? What brings you here? Spirit Park is closed for the night!"

"We're here on business, Sir," She answered without hesitation, "There's something happening within the park that we need to discuss immediately. Can you let us in to talk?"

"Something...happening…" There was a long, awkward pause, then some shuffling. Erza turned to Laxus, who stood a few feet behind. He shrugged, scratching his head. Finally the man returned, speaking again, "Alright, alright, I'll open the gates and let you all in. _REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR DIRTY SHOES OFF BEFORE YOU ENTER!_ "

There was a click and the gates slowly opened. Erza was first to go through the gate entrance and up the stairs. The details of the mansion became clearer and clearer. It was quite old fashioned, but the building looked as though it were recently renovated, and everything were as new. They stood on the porch, and before Erza could knock on the door, she heard a voice yell out from the inside. "I'm coming, I'm coming, have some damn patience!"

The door was opened by a tall man, looking to be in his fifties. He had short, styled black, graying hair and a gray beard. His silk, dark purple robe covered all but his feet, covered by slippers he'd thrown on. He stared at the group, disturbed by their presence as he was just asleep.

"You have something important to tell me, you say?" He spoke, looking down at them all. Erza nodded, silently, and he exhaled, "Fine. You may come in. Leave your shoes by the door, I don't want you tracking what you've picked up from the park around my house."

They entered and he shut the door. The group obeyed, removing their shoes and leaving them left to the door. The foyer was decorated with white marble and golden accents with wooden flooring. It had a set of couches where they all gathered, looking out into the ocean and the night sky from a deck that held a pool. Natsu seemed distracted by the atmosphere until Erza knocked it out of him as she sat beside him on the couch. The owner sat adjacent from her, in the center of the matching sofa. He gave a look that read 'no one sit next to me,' and the rest of the group either made room for each other on the other couch, or stood behind it, which is what Laxus and Gray chose to do.

The owner, for a moment, stared at Laxus. Laxus stared back, slightly creeped out by the man's annoyed yet focused expression. The dragon slayer started to regret coming here until the other spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"I know you," He said, "You and your _friend_ went through a forbidden area in my aquarium!"

Laxus raised his eyebrows. Of course, this was about their expedition last light. No doubt they were caught on camera, but no one came after them. He didn't give it too much thought, and carried on with the discussion. "That's why we're here," he explained, "We saw something in there that's putting your park in danger."

"Danger, you say?" He questioned him, "What about this makes me think you lot aren't the dangerous ones?"

"You let us into your house, didn't you?"

"Laxus!" Erza punched his gut, though not getting a reaction from it, "Be respectful."

The dragon slayer kept his eyes trained on the man. What was up with this guy? Who knew someone so stuck up his own ass could make a park like this. Though, one would suppose anyone with money could, no matter how much of a douchebag they seemed to be. He knew better than to keep pushing the man's buttons, however; he was worried about Gajeel after all. If they can't get the park owner on their good side, they may not be able to do anything about this situation at all.

The owner stretched his wrist impatiently, "Well now, perhaps I should introduce myself then, since I should trust you, as you claim," he said before clearing his throat, "My name is Vincent Aurli. You may refer to me as either Sir or Mr. Aurli. I am the owner of Spirit Park, and I've funded it completely on my own, and opened it to the public around two months ago. My intentions were to create the perfect, most beautiful amusement park one could only imagine, and of course, you claim that there is something wrong with it. Tell me exactly; who are you lot? And what makes you think you can come to my home at such an abysmal time?"

"We're mages of the guild Fairy Tail," Erza answered with pride, "I am Erza Scarlet, also known as Titania. This is Lucy Heartfilia, Cana Alberona, and Gray Fullbuster. Then there's Natsu Dragneel and Laxus Dreyar-they're dragon slayers-and they've been hearing-"

"Dragon slayers?"

There was a pause. Erza looked at Vincent, perplexed as he looked on at the two with astonishment. Natsu grinned, while Laxus narrowed his eyes. Laxus found himself trusting this guy less and less. Still all they needed for him to do was close the park for an investigation. Whatever Vincent was so intrigued about, he'd have to deal with it until Erza pops the question.

"You say you two are dragon slayers?" Vincent continued, "I have never seen a dragon slayer with my own eyes."

"Yeah, we're the real deal!" Natsu said confidently, Erza rolling her eyes, "There's two more dragon slayers in our guild, too!"

"Four. You claim that you have four dragon slayers?"

"Yep! And we're all here!"

"Very interesting...Tell me, Dragneel, what kind of magic do you use?"

Oh god. Laxus had to shut his eyes. The moment Vincent had asked that, Laxus wished he'd bought his music. He turned to see Gray pinch the bridge of his nose. Natsu stood from his seat, proudly placing his hands over his hips before beginning to tell his story. He noticed Vincent's attention peak as Natsu stood, and it got Laxus thinking; just why did Vincent have such an interest in Dragon Slayers? Were they just some breed of animal to him? Was he an 'expert' on dragon slayers? Laxus knew with every question he asked himself, he made Vincent look more and more like an entitled asshat, but again, he waited it out, and let Natsu unleash all his energy on the man.

"See this?" Natsu lifted his hand, and set it aflame. Vincent stared in awe, and Natsu continued, "Fire. Dragon. Slayer. Magic. I'm a 'first generation' dragon slayer. Had my magic taught t' me by a real dragon: Igneel." Natsu formed a fist, and the fire in his hand went out. He then looked at Laxus, who turned away, not willing to say anything. Natsu shrugged it off, and spoke for him.

"This here's Laxus. He's got lightning magic, but he didn't get it from a dragon, so he's-"

"A second generation dragon slayer."

Laxus turned to him-they all did-mouth slightly agape, surprised that Vincent knew that.

"That involves lacrima, and that means he's had a lacrima implanted into him. There all also third-generation dragon slayers, who are both trained by a dragon and given a lacrima. But of course, I assume you know this already."

Natsu stared blankly at him, "Y...yeah, actually! Yeah!"

"Then tell me about you first generation dragon slayers," Vincent stood, "Are there more of you?"

"The other two dragon slayers are first generation," Erza spoke up, "They're back at the hotel. Wendy Marvell and Gajeel Redfox. Wendy is the youngest, and she is the sky dragon slayer, with wind magic. Gajeel is the iron dragon slayer."

"Iron you say?" Vincent stopped her, "That...is an interesting element, not like the rest in that it's the only physical one-You say he is back at the hotel?"

"Yeah, 'nd he's _sick_ ," Laxus said, abruptly. He didn't like where this was headed. It were as if everything were narrowing down to Gajeel, like that's was where he intended for this conversation to be led. Vincent looked at him, a slight scowl appearing on his face. As much as he knew they needed to gain his trust, he also knew that they didn't have time to pal around. He wanted to get back to the hotel most of all, and make sure Gajeel was doing okay. If they were to get anywhere that evening, Laxus was gonna have to bring the conversation back to where it was himself.

Laxus proceeded, having everyone's attention, "We've been hearing and seeing things that no one else in this park has seen, and to me that's because we're dragon slayers. It's as if ur senses are able to pick them up better than anyone else's. When Gajeel and I went to the aquarium, we found the storage room, and in the corner...It was pitch black, but things came in and out as if it were a portal. All four of us have heard laughing and even crying, and it all sounded inhuman. Wendy was supposedly hurt by them, and I have a hunch that that's what's making Gajeel sick."

"Potentially, people in this park are in danger," Erza said, "We need to have it closed for a few days to investigate further."

Vincent sat down, frowning, "You wish for me to close my park?" He reworded, and Erza nodded slightly. He sighed, "...You dragon slayers claim that you are hearing things, and 'seeing' things, that I cannot? And you expect me to believe this and close my park? Really, it's silly of you to come all this way just to tell me how delusional you dragon slayers must be, and assume that my amusement park is the problem."

Laxus formed a fist. It was thankfully hidden behind the couch and invisible to Vincent, but Erza could tell that Laxus was losing patience with the man. He had a much shorter fuse than Erza, though she too was known to have little patience when it came to interrogations. She needed to, however, for the sake of the people of this park, and for Gajeel's sake.

"Mr. Aurli," Erza began, "We understand that you may not believe us, but we genuinely fear that many people are in great danger. All we wish to do is investigate further, but we do not want to risk any bystander getting hurt. We only need a short period of time to continue this investigation and we promise we will be out of your way."

Vincent gave a not-so-convinced glare at the woman, placing his hand under his chin. He hummed quietly, quickly glancing at the group. Laxus' mouth was shut, but he could tell his teeth were clenched. Gray curled his lip, and Natsu stared directly at him, bouncing his leg impatiently. Sighing, Vincent crossed his arms over his chest, looking back at Erza, who seemed to anticipate his negotiation. "I'm not completely settled on that deal, as you can tell," Vincent spoke, "Of course, I will do as you wish and evacuate the park by the afternoon tomorrow. You will have two days to complete your little investigation...however, should you turn up with nothing by the morning of day three, not only do I want all of you out of my amusement park, but your little guild will be sent a hefty fine...that is my only offer."

Erza sat silently. The stakes were suddenly incredibly high. She herself hadn't seen anything the whole three days she'd spent at the amusement park, and neither did Lucy or Gray, so she wasn't that confident. Then she remembered Gajeel-not only did he hear and see it, but he was affected by it the most. He may just be Fairy Tail's saving grace. Erza stood, arm extended towards Vincent, biting the bottom of her lip.

"Deal."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello! Sorry for the bit of delay. I haven't been uploading as frequently because of college starting up again, but rest assured! _I'm literally at chapter 13 already._ I just need extra free time to actually proofread and upload the chapters. I'm also trying to make chapters a bit longer (with this one having the most words so far, least until I upload the others). A bit slow, but I promise it picks up soon~~~**

 **That's pretty much it for updates. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review :D**

* * *

Chapter 10

"What a weirdo," Gray said, wiping beams of nervous sweat from his forehead, "I couldn't stand being in that stupid mansion for any longer."

Erza turned back to him, watching as he began undressing. She chuckled, "No wonder you were so nervous, I'm glad you were able to compose yourself for that long."

"Shut up," Gray averted his eyes from the other, "It's hot out here."

The group began walking through the park, back to the hotel. This wasn't much of a vacation anymore, unfortunately, and Erza felt somewhat guilty that so many people would be forced to leave the hotel so suddenly. While she couldn't quite shake it from her mind, she knew it was for the best. Natsu seemed excited, having not had anyone or anything to fight in the past three days. Laxus felt as though he were the only one out of the group with a bad feeling in his gut. Though it seemed like they were finally making progress, his trust in Vincent lowered ever since he got a look at the man's face...and it lowered further when he brought up Gajeel.

"Laxus!"

The dragon slayer looked down at the group to see who was calling him. The group had all turned to him, all with concerned looks on their faces. "What's wrong? You look uneasy," Erza asked. Laxus scratched the back of his neck.

"...'ts 'cause I am," He admitted, sighing and letting his hand swing to his side, "I don't trust Vincent. Not a bit."

Cana frowned, remembering how Vincent talked about Gajeel the way he did. Was Laxus that offended? Earlier that day, Laxus actually kissed Gajeel at the beach in front of them, and it looked pretty damn romantic, but she never imagined Laxus being so defensive of him. Cute as it was and as much as she wanted to tease the dragon slayer, she also remembered just how on edge Laxus was because of Gajeel's illness, and the fact that Natsu and his friends showed up...and are unaware of their relationship.

She was glad Natsu and the others were here, but an on-edge Laxus didn't mix well with five oblivious mages.

"You don't...you know what," Erza said, "I don't completely trust him either. He's an egotistical maniac, but as much as I'd hate to say it, now our guild is on the line. Tomorrow afternoon we begin our investigation. From what we have I'm certain that we'll find something and prove that jerk-off wrong."

"Hell yeah, you said it Erza!" Cana cheered, surprised at her use of the term 'jerk-off.'

Laxus rolled his eyes, forming his left hand into a fist impatiently. As they got closer to the hotel, all that was on his mind was Gajeel. He didn't want to leave him in the hotel room, despite Wendy, Juvia, Mirajane and the exceeds being with him. Since the first incident at the aquarium, they'd both been hearing the same things...but it affected Gajeel so much more, and Laxus never considered it as much as he did now. Now, and after all he'd done just to give his friends a week on vacation, Gajeel was lying in bed, unconscious, and Laxus couldn't even stay to make sure he rested well. Really, he felt like a shitty boyfriend.

As they entered the lobby of the hotel, the group began discussing plans. Laxus however immediately left the group without saying a word and went to the elevator by himself. He knew they'd give him weird looks, but Laxus couldn't give a damn at the moment. Once he reached his floor he unlocked and swung open the door to his hotel room. The living room was empty, meaning that everyone was still in the bedroom. When he entered, he found Gajeel still asleep on his bed. Pantherlily slept on the bed beside him, and the other two exceeds slept in the corner, on some spare pillows. Wendy fell asleep beside Juvia on the floor, and Mirajane sat on a chair she'd pulled closer to the bed, reading a book.

She looked up, somewhat surprised to see Laxus enter so suddenly, and frowned at his disappointed expression; Gajeel hadn't woken up yet. She placed the book on the seat as she stood, walking silently towards the lightning mage, who stared over Gajeel's sleeping form.

"He hasn't woken up," Mirajane confirmed, "But he's stable. He isn't as pale either and his breathing seems fine."

Laxus was relieved, "Thank god," he muttered, "Been feelin' guilty about leaving 'im here."

Mira nodded. Of course he would. She watched as he walked around the other side of the bed, out of Juvia and Wendy's way, and knelt over, listening to Gajeel's breathing. He wasn't wheezing as loudly, so his breathing was at least okay. It was warm as well-he could feel it through Gajeel's slightly parted lips. Laxus observed Gajeel for a moment, and then, as if there were no witnesses, left a kiss on Gajeel's cheek. When he looked back at Gajeel, he noticed the other's mouth close. _He felt it._ Gajeel's still there.

He looked up, hearing Mirajane quietly waking up Juvia and Wendy from the opposite side of the bed. Juvia appeared, yawning and stretching her arms, and then Wendy stood up, scratching her side. She walked over to the corner and woke up Happy and Charle, and made her way back to the bed with Laxus. She sat down as the others exited the room. Pantherlily sleepily rose up and floated awa resting on the bed with his partner.

Mirajane sighed, stretching her legs out, "Did it go well?"

"In a way," Laxus said, "I ain't gettin' any good vibes from him. He's an asshole...and I don't trust him."

"That so? Yikes," Mira said, disappointed, "I really just want this situation to end...whatever that situation may be. Laxus...have you heard anything? Since you left?"

"...No. I haven't heard anything."

* * *

Gajeel's eyes opened. As he focused his vision, he realized he was completely surrounded by an opaque black. He felt like he was falling, floating down in a void space with seemingly no end. When the dragon slayer tried to turn his head, he found that he could not move, and he could not speak. He could only observe with his eyes.

Desperately, he tried looking around, getting a view of everything he could despite being unable to move his head, and found nothing but black. He wasn't able to see if anything or anyone was beside him, but he was certain nothing was there as he couldn't sense anything. Upon realizing his inability to sense anything, he began to panic. Where was he? What was going on? Why couldn't he feel anything? As Gajeel took in his lack of surroundings, he felt more and more fear.

"You."

What?

" _You._ "

Gajeel looked around again, swearing that he'd heard a voice. It echoed through his head, loudly, as if it came from right next to him. He so desperately wanted to yell out for whoever was calling him, but couldn't even open his mouth. The next thing he heard made his body go cold. Laughter. Again. It was loud and sharp, getting louder with each passing second. Gajeel's senses had suddenly gone from numb to hyper, and he felt as though he were going to explode. His heart raced with fear as he heard the same voice, overpowering the already loud laughter.

"I want your power."

My power?

"Your magic."

The laughter caused a migraine, and he shut his eyes in a fruitless attempt to somehow ignore the noise.

"I. Want. _You._ "

Gajeel sat up in a cold sweat.

He looked down, panting, staring at his shaking hands. He was moving, but he was freezing cold and nauseous again. His ears began ringing and he clamped his hands over them. Slowly, he looked up, realizing that he wasn't in some kind of abyss. He was in Laxus' hotel room. At Spirit Park. It was two in the morning.

"Gajeel?"

He turned to see Laxus laying beside him. At the edge of the bed was Pantherlily, seemingly unbothered. Laxus sat up, holding himself up with his arm, and turned on the lamp beside the bed. They stared at each other. Laxus appeared exhausted, with bags under his eyes and a more groggy tone. Gajeel was sickly, still, his hands remained over his ears. He looked worried, and Laxus was quick to figure out why. He pulled Gajeel back against the bed, wrapping him in his arms.

"You're with me, okay? You're fine," He whispered. Gajeel stared, slowly moving his hands away from his ears. Laxus was warm and welcoming, and the other dragon slayer relaxed into him. He shut his eyes and let Laxus nuzzle into his hair. They breathed in each other's scent as they relaxed against the bed.

Gajeel spoke lowly, not really wanting to talk, but he felt like his heart would burst. "This is fucking weird," he said, "It's fucking weird. And I feel gross. I don't know what the hell is going on, but it's making me feel disgusting and...weak. Like-like I'm gonna combust any minute."

"You'll be fine, alright?" Laxus said, lips pressed against Gajeel's forehead. His voice made Gajeel shiver, "We're going to figure this out. Soon. I promise you. But you need sleep, so let's just focus on that, okay?"

"...Alright, fine." Gajeel breathed, shutting his eyes. Laxus pulled Gajeel up and kissed him, passionately, on the lips. The iron mage's lips were cold, but Laxus could feel him calm down and become more at ease. His eyes fluttered open as the dragon slayers parted, ruby iris' staring into Laxus' own. For a moment, Gajeel felt like nothing had happened. They were enjoying themselves as they'd planned to.

The pain in Gajeel's gut would return in the morning, however. The nightmare he had stuck with him, pounding his head. He sat up in the bed, blinded by the sunlight illuminating the bedroom. Gajeel groaned, his stomach not letting up. He processed his surroundings for a moment, pulling his leg up and resting his head and hand against his knee and letting his long dark hair droop just over the bed.

The first thing he noticed was Laxus not being in the bed. He wasn't in the bedroom and Gajeel couldn't sense him in the living room. In his place was a folded yellow piece of line paper. At the end of the bed was Pantherlily, still curled up and sleeping. The rest of the room was a bit of a mess, having been filled with so many people. Chairs and pillows were moved around, and some of his own clothes he'd been wearing the other night had been removed, likely in his sleep, likely by Laxus. The clock by the bedside read "9:37am." He must've slept in.

He turned to unfold the note on the bed beside him. It was a message, written in pen a bit sloppily and rushed. Gajeel quickly recognized it as Laxus' handwriting. The message read: "We're all in the lobby. Meet us when you wake up & get something to eat. -Laxus." Gajeel ran a hand through his own hair, moving long strands from his face. He stood from the bed, waking the exceed, and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh, Gajeel," Pantherlily spoke, "How are you feeling?"

"What do you me-oh, right. I'm fine," Gajeel answered, "Stomach hurts...head hurts."

Pantherlily lasily rolled off the edge of the mattress, flying up before he hit the ground. He flew over to his partner, getting a good look at his face. "You certainly look better."

"I guess...what the hell happened last night?"

"Well, from what I know," Pantherlily began, "You passed out. You got sick and we had to call a healer. Laxus left to inform the park owner of our-rather, your sightings. I'm not exactly clear on how that went, but at least we're making some progress."

"Mmm…" Gajeel slipped on a pair of sandals and made his way for the bedroom door, note in hand. He placed the note in his pocket, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I'm gonna go eat somethin'," He said, opening the door and dragging his feet through the living room. Pantherlily flew behind him, and the two made their way to the lobby.

Suddenly, Gajeel was fully awake. He was met with a rather unpleasant surprise; Natsu and his friends were here. He stood there, shocked. What the hell were they doing here? Everyone sat around a circular couch in the lobby, talking and laughing. Laxus turned around and saw him standing there perplexed. He stood and walked over to Gajeel without warning to the rest, who looked on curiously.

"You sleep well?" Laxus asked in a low voice. Gajeel stared at him, then back at the group, and then back at him once more.

"What the _hell_ are they doing here?" He asked. Laxus opened his mouth, about to say something, but then his eyes widened, realizing he didn't know either. He shook his head as he sighed and motioned towards the group, inviting Gajeel and Pantherlily to sit with them. Laxus stood behind the couch, letting Gajeel take his own spot. Cana gave Laxus a smug look, making the other roll his eyes. Gray stared at the two, meticulously. As they sat, Gajeel was greeted by Erza, but he only stared at them with slight annoyance.

"What's going on?," Gajeel asked as he sat down, "What the hell're you all doing here?"

"Oh! Uh…" Lucy spoke up, then paused.

"We can't enjoy Spirit Park?" Gray interjected, "We're allowed to be here y'know."

"I'd've preferred you stayed in magnolia," Gajeel gritted his teeth, "'Sides the whole point of a vacation is t' get away from everything you wanna avoid. My head's fucking killing me…"

Juvia watched as Gajeel held a hand against his temple. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, "Juvia was worried about you."

"I'm fine," Gajeel moved his hand back down, hunching over and staring at the floor. Juvia frowned, tilting her head. He glimpsed over and found Natsu staring at him with big inquisitive eyes. He glared at the other dragon slayer, sitting up and and watching as Natsu's eyes seemed trained on him. "What the _fuck_. Do you _want_."

"Natsu-!" Lucy smacked the back of his head, causing him to nearly fall off his seat.

Laxus leaned down and whispered in Gajeel's ear if he wanted something to eat. Gajeel shook his head, but Laxus insisted he ate something. Sighing, Gajeel leaned back on the couch while Laxus left the group to bring the other some breakfast. Gray's eyebrows lifted as he observed the short conversation. They were never this close at the guild, let alone in public. He wasn't even certain the two were friends. When he saw them kiss, not many people were around. In fact, the only ones around that they knew were Mirajane, Juvia and Cana. Pantherlily was there as well, of course, but other than that, the beach was practically empty, and the two relished in that. They weren't just touching, they were kissing, holding each other, whispering in each other's ears.

Now that everyone was together, of course, they were much less affectionate, but Gray could tell something was still there. They were talking to each other, first of all, and they were still whispering to each other. Laxus was the first person that greeted Gajeel, and he even offered him his seat without saying a word. They were really together.

Gray turned to Natsu, who kept looking between Laxus and Gajeel. He saw something too, but he didn't see everything Gray saw. Suddenly, his straight face turned into a shocked, wide-eyed expression when he realized why Natsu was staring at Gajeel the way he did at first; Gray had no memory of Gajeel ever wearing that shirt before. For a moment, he thought the dragon slayer had bought it recently, but it was much too large for him. He was wearing Laxus' shirt. By the way Natsu was looking at the two of them, Gray could tell that Natsu knew they were together as well.

He knew to keep his mouth shut about it. Besides, he'd never admit to anyone that Natsu was right.

"I'm a little concerned," Lucy spoke up, "The park is supposed to be evacuated by noon, and it's almost ten. There's still people here, and it doesn't look like there's an evacuation team around at all."

"Lucy's right," Erza said, "We may have to revisit Vincent. He did give us a time limit, after all, and I don't want anyone to be in any danger."

Gajeel sat up, turning his head towards the group. "What the hell are you guys talkin' about? Who's Vincent?"

"Vincent Aurli is the owner of Spirit Park," Erza answered, "He lives in a mansion at the opposite end of the park. Up on the hills near the ocean."

"Yeah, 'nd he's an asshole that likes dragon slayers," Gray muttered, stretching his arms across the couch and crossing his legs, "Took particular interest in you, actually."

The dragon slayer's frowned, a look of disgust clear on his face. He moved hair out of the way of his face, keeping his eyes on the ice mage. "...What? Me?" Gajeel motioned to himself, "What does that asshole want with me?"

"Curious about your magic. Natsu didn't tell em' though," Gray reassured him, "Laxus shut 'im up before he could say somethin' stupid."

Before Natsu could stand from his seat and charge at Gray, Laxus appeared, a vicious glare on his face causing Natsu to quickly return to his seat. He came back with a platter of food; A stack of pancakes drizzled with syrup and butter, scrambled eggs, home fries and orange juice. Gajeel looked at the other with furrowed eyebrows and Laxus shrugged, handing him the platter. After a moment of looking around, Gajeel huffed and ate his breakfast.

"What he say, then? About the park?" Gajeel asked with his mouth full.

"He said he'd evacuate the park by noon...today," Lucy answered. Gajeel sat up, dumbfounded. He watched a group of people walk by, clad in beachwear. There were young children talking about the rides they planned to go on, and a couple, entering the lobby, discussing a restaurant they wished to go to.

"Well he's doing a bad fucking job," Gajeel complained.

"We know," They said in unison.

"That's it then, I'm going to talk to him right now," Erza stood up, followed by Lucy and Cana, "I don't know what makes him think he can just put our guild on the line of this investigation, and then not even strike up his end of the deal? If he can't do it then we'll have to do it ourselves...but we'll only have two hours...and we only have two days to do this."

"Not even, more like a day and a half," Cana said, "We'll go with you. I don't want you going to that creep's house alone."

A day and a half? That's fucking ridiculous. With what Gajeel had been through they might need way more than a day and a half to search the whole damn park, as much as he wanted this to be over with. Before he could say anything, the three left the room, leaving the rest of the group to keep chatting. Juvia brought up something about worrying for the three, and Mirajane calmed her down. Gray and Natsu started arguing over nothing, and Wendy started having a conversation with the exceeds. It started feeling like he were back at the guild. He started feeling nauseous again.

He wanted this vacation to end more than ever now.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Wait at the hotel!? While nothing gets done!?" Erza yelled out. She was in the midst of a freak out as zero progress had been made. Vincent demanded that the mages stay in their hotel rooms until twelve o'clock, when the park should be evacuated. It was already 10:15, leaving less than two hours for the park to completely empty. She stormed back into the hotel lobby, Cana and Lucy close behind her, trying to calm her down.

"Erza, Erza, it'll be fine," Cana said, "Besides, we did do some investigating before, right? We already have a lead! However this next phase goes, we'll find somethin', and prove that asshat wrong in no time!"

Erza stood up straight, huffing and clenching her fists. "I...I could use a nap."

"And I'll break the news to everyone. Lucy, you come with me." Cana pulled the other mage ahead.

"Oh-okay!" Surprised by Cana's strong grip, she stumbled as the two made it up to Natsu and Gray's hotel room.

Loudly and without hesitation, Cana knocked on the door. She grinned when Gray's complaint could be heard through the door. When the door swung open, the girls were met with a nearly nude Gray Fullbuster, standing at the end of an incredibly messy room. It reeked of soda, as neither drank alcohol, and dirty clothes and sheets were strewn about. Lucy quickly covered her nose, and Cana's eyes widened.

"What, do you guys _live_ here?" She asked sarcastically.

Gray sighed, turning to the dark, messy room. "Trust me," he said, "This ain't my mess."

"Well, whatever, dude," Cana crossed her arms, "Vincent said we have to stay in the hotel until twelve."

"Great," Gray rolled his eyes, "How responsible of that guy."

"You could use that time to clean up your damn room," Cana said, "We're gonna go tell everyone else, so-"

"Actually, wait."

Cana looked at Gray as he grabbed her shoulder, quite uncharacteristically. He averted his eyes, looking down the balcony hallway, and looked back at the girls. "I'll tell Laxus. Need to talk to 'im, anyways."

"Oh. That's fine by me," Cana shrugged, "Makes my job easy."

The girls left, and Gray shut the door. He found clean clothes to throw on and made his way up to Laxus' hotel room. What was he doing? He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but he needed to confront Laxus about it, at least, before Natsu did. He knew not to tell Laxus that Natsu had a hunch about him and Gajeel, but Gray himself saw them straight up make out on the beach yesterday. It stayed on his mind the whole night; the way Laxus was so close to Gajeel while he slept in _his_ bed, the way he defended Gajeel the second the park owner took interest in him, and even the fact that Laxus went out of his way to bring Gajeel food after probably spending the night taking care of him.

This clearly wasn't anything new. The mages of Fairy Tail were known to be familial, but no one including himself ever assumed Laxus and Gajeel, the two least talkative people in the guild, could be a couple of all things. He sighed, feeling awkward thinking about it so much. At the end of the day, they were his comrades, and his friends. Gray wanted to know the truth. He straightened his face, and knocked on the hotel door.

After a moment, Laxus answered. He didn't open the door all the way, so Gray could only see Laxus' form, and nothing in the room behind him. Of course, Gray assumed that meant he wasn't in the room alone.

"What's going on?" Laxus asked. Gray gulped, scratching his head.

"Well," He began, "Cana said we were told to wait here, at the hotel, until twelve. All of us."

"Oh." Laxus murmured. Before he could shut the door, Gray caught it, holding it open. He knew Laxus wasn't one to slam the door on his fingers anymore, so he held it open with slight confidence. Laxus stared at him, confused. "The hell're you doing?"

"I need to talk to you. It's...important."

Laxus paused, raising an eyebrow and turning to look in the room behind him. He was looking at someone, Gray thought, he was looking at Gajeel. Laxus finally stepped out of the room, not letting the door open all the way and shutting it behind him. Gray sat on a chair against the balcony, and Laxus leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms, staring down at the mage

"Talk about what?"

Gray sat there, not knowing where to start. He needed to stay cool, so he exhaled and said, quite blatantly, "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"I fucking knew it," Laxus said through his teeth, "How the hell did you know, then, huh? Who the fuck told you?"

"No one told me," Gray held his hands up in front of himself defensively, "We've...been here for a few days and...happened to see you two on the beach, so-"

"Fuck-!" Laxus stammered, "You-you all know?"

"No! No, we-it's just me. I'm the only one that knows, I swear, 'nd I ain't tellin' anyone either."

"..."

"I'm serious here!" Gray stood up confrontationally, "And I wanted to talk to you because I don't wanna be left in the dust about it, okay? You may be all tough and mighty but I really need you to explain this t' me, already. How long have you two been...like this?"

Laxus stood there, somewhat defeated, knowing that the ice mage wouldn't back down. He was similar to Natsu, though Gray would never admit it. Laxus was actually thankful it wasn't Natsu, as Gray was much easier to talk to...but he was coming out to him. Gray is a friend, and he could trust him, but coming out wasn't exactly easy, no matter who he was talking to. Not to mention the fact that he'd be outing Gajeel as well.

When he thought back to that morning, remembering how devastated Gajeel was for that short moment, Laxus felt his gut sink. Gajeel said he was fine, but he wasn't sure how fine the dragon slayer really was. Laxus wasn't sure how it had affected him, and he wasn't sure how he'd take finding out that someone else knows now. There wasn't much use fighting it now. It was clear that Gray knew more than enough to just assume the two were together anyway.

"We haven't been together for that long," Laxus breathed, speaking lowly, "We've only been together for about a month. But I have had feelings for him...long before we actually got together."

"...So that means…"

"I confessed to him, yeah. On our last mission, I just...He could've been fucking killed, Gray. I confessed to him on a whim, because he was so upset about us saving him and...I'll be honest, didn't even consider whether he swung that way or not when I told him, but I told him because it felt like I'd never get the chance again. I didn't even know what to do with myself when he said yes...when he actually said he liked me back. Stuff happened and, well, we ended up hooking up. Givin' it a shot."

"And that's why you were so defensive last night?"

Laxus frowned. Defensive? Of course he would defend Gajeel, why wouldn't he defend any of his friends? Though it was true; the moment Vincent suggested any interest in Gajeel, Laxus could barely keep still. Maybe the dragon slayer was just that obvious. He rolled his eyes, choosing to just answer the other mage's question and get it over with. "Whatever. That jackass bought him up like he was some kind of...object. I'm not gonna just stand there while flame-brain sells 'im out like an art piece. Fuck that."

Gray stood there, astonished, trying to understand Laxus' story. "Well then. Never took you for the romantic type," he teased, "Gajeel, either, but alright, I get it. You two're all lovey-dovey now, fine by me. Congrats." He grinned as Laxus' face grew redder. The dragon slayer restrained himself, watching the other mage turn on his heel to face where he once came. Laxus spoke up before Gray left the balcony.

"I should fucking strangle you."

"You wouldn't."

With that statement, Gray headed back to his hotel room. Laxus watched, still leaning against the wall. His cheeks were tinted red, and whatever he wanted to say before Gray left was caught in his throat. Gray was the only one in Natsu's group that knew about his relationship with Gajeel...but Laxus wasn't sure how true that was. Natsu is a dragon slayer-hell, Wendy is a dragon slayer-why wouldn't they suspect him and Gajeel of something?

Laxus' jaw dropped as he began putting the pieces together. That's why they were here. He caught Natsu staring him and Gajeel down before leaving for Spirit Park. His dragon senses must've picked up Gajeel's lingering scent on him, or vice versa. Of course Natsu's curiosity would have peaked enough to investigate. Laxus swallowed hard, just thinking about Gajeel finding out that Natsu and his friends even had a clue about their relationship. For now Laxus would have to accept that Gray did know about them, and figure out how to tell Gajeel later.

After a few minutes Laxus went back into his hotel room. He slowly closed the door behind him, staring at Gajeel cautiously while the man listened to Laxus' music player. When he heard the door click shut, Gajeel looked up, giving Laxus a concerned look. "Who was it?" He asked somewhat reluctantly.

"It was just Gray," Laxus answered in his usual low tone, "Apparently we were told to stay in our hotel rooms until twelve. Guy must be pissed at us or somethin'."

"That sounds fishy as hell," Gajeel narrowed his eyes. He paused Laxus' music player, removing the headphones and placing them on the coffee table. After a moment of thinking, he spoke again, "Why the hell wouldn't he want us to help with the evacuation?"

"I don't...I have no idea," Laxus said, "But I'm not exactly in the mood to contest it. Seems I'm already crossing the line with that guy. That reminds me-have you been hearing anything?"

"...No, no I haven't."

"Well that's good," Laxus relaxed, "And...hey, we have some time to ourselves. A good hour and fifteen."

Gajeel raised his eyebrows as Laxus spoke in a rather suggesting manner. "What are you saying?"

Laxus made his way towards the loveseat, sitting next to Gajeel and wrapping his arms around the other's waist. He leaned in, staring into Gajeel's confused eyes. He caressed the other dragon slayer's cheek, grinning as Gajeel audibly shuddered. Gajeel looked to his side, noticing that Laxus had trapped him at the edge of the couch, stuck between him and the couches arm. He looked back up, smirking. "What did you wanna do?"

Here? Now? Gajeel's heart began to race. Everyone was here; Natsu and Gray and Erza...he didn't want to risk anyone else finding out about the two, but the closer Laxus got, the more Gajeel wanted him. They had some time to kill, and Gajeel did want to spend time with Laxus like he initially planned, even if it were for just for the little free time they had left. This was stupid. This was stupid, but he wanted it nonetheless.

Without a word, Laxus moved in closer and kissed Gajeel's neck, making him shiver more as he traveled up to his ear. He started licking and biting it until Gajeel moaned, and he pulled away to get a look at his face. Gajeel was breathing heavily, a look of desire on his face. Laxus leaned back in to kiss his lips, running his hands up Gajeel's shirt. Warm hands tenderly caressed his abdomen, up to his chest and circling around his nipple. Laxus could feel Gajeel's ecstasy growing under him, and it only increased his desire for him.

Laxus wanted to keep his mind-and Gajeel's-off of Gray knowing about them. Before he went back into the hotel room, he was struck with guilt, unable to keep their secret for the second time. He was a terrible liar, especially to his friends. Gajeel on the other hand was probably an expert. As the thought came to mind again he kissed Gajeel deeper, slipping a tongue past the man's lips and tasting him. He didn't want to think about what Gajeel would do or say should he find out. He just wanted to be with him.

"Let's go to the bed," Laxus whispered, pulling away from their kiss, "So no one can hear us, right?"

Laxus pushed himself off the loveseat, pulling Gajeel up by the arm and ushering him into the bedroom. He motioned for Gajeel to get in the bed while he locked the door and shut the curtains until the room was completely darkened. He turned on a lamp, dimming the room and leaving just enough light for them to see each other. As Laxus was about to climb in the bed, Gajeel suddenly stopped him.

"Wait."

For a split second, Laxus was worried Gajeel had heard something again. Gajeel stood from the bed, and let Laxus climb in and sit up against the bedframe before climbing over him. Laxus snorted, realizing what Gajeel had planned to do. "You know what you're doing?"

"Not really," He quickly admitted, "But you sure do."

Brushing off Gajeel's tease, Laxus unzipped his jeans and pulled his member out the opening of his boxers. Gajeel wasn't reluctant to begin stroking it, and by the way Gajeel was shaking Laxus could tell he was just as eager to do this as himself. Gajeel moved down, adjusting his position as he kissed the tip of Laxus' hardening cock. Laxus grabbed his coat that had been lying on the floor, covering his luggage, and pulled it over Gajeel before grabbing the man's head. He looked up at Laxus, opening his mouth and licking Laxus' member from the tip down, and back up again.

He placed his mouth over the tip, licking around it, and pushing himself down slightly. Laxus' satisfied moan was Gajeel's signal to keep moving, slowly taking Laxus in. Gajeel let the other hold his hair as he massaged his cock with his mouth. Eventually he felt Laxus place a finger on his bottom lip, forcing his mouth to open wider.

"Like this," He muttered, "Don't let your teeth get in the way, Gaj."

"Mmm," Gajeel managed to push himself further down, swallowing most of Laxus' member. Laxus reached down again, pulling Gajeel's mouth open until his tongue was sticking out.

"Fuck-!" Laxus groaned as Gajeel finally reached the bottom of his member. Gajeel held his head in place before pulling himself up, gasping for air. He looked at Laxus who had been biting his lip to prevent from being too loud. Gajeel wiped saliva from the side of his mouth, panting, and moved back down to continue giving Laxus head.

Laxus shivered with pleasure each time Gajeel went down, soon pushing Gajeel's head down himself. He listened as Gajeel looked up at him, moaning. Gajeel had been jacking off as he sucked Laxus' dick, desperate for more pleasure. Laxus finally pulled the other man up to let him breathe, and took off his own shirt with the temperature of his body starting to rise. "You're fuckin' crazy," Laxus laughed, "You've never done this before, for sure?"

"N-nah," Gajeel struggled to reply, "I've been...I was...they way you did it to me…"

"You're hungry for more, huh?" Laxus taunted, unbuttoning his jeans fully and pulling them down to his knees. He grabbed Gajeel's waist and pulled down Gajeel's pants and underwear, tossing them off the bed. Without instruction, Gajeel positioned himself over Laxus' cock, opening himself up to take him in once more. Laxus continued holding his waist, expecting Gajeel to begin moving on his own, but the dragon slayer froze, looking up at Laxus, silently begging him to push him down. "Really like how rough I am with you, huh?"

"Please…just..."

"Whatever you say," Laxus said, pushing Gajeel down. He watched in amusement as Gajeel gasped and struggled to grab the fallen coat. He covered his mouth to prevent from making too loud a noise, shivering and moaning as Laxus thrusted into him. Laxus observed the other as his long dark hair bounced with every thrust and started to cover Gajeel's face. He held the lightning slayer's coat until Laxus took it from him and let him lean in. Gajeel wrapped his arms around Laxus' shoulders and let Laxus take over completely

He moaned as he felt Gajeel scratching his back, likely deep enough to leave a scar, though Laxus paid no mind. He kissed Gajeel's neck, thrusting harder until he came close to finishing. "Laxus-I...Laxus-!" Gajeel begged, his heart racing as he too was about to finish. He felt a warm secretion fill his entrance as Laxus' thrusts began to slow, and Gajeel groaned, letting his cum spill over his own shirt and Laxus' chest. They sat still for a moment, gasping for air, breathing each other in.

"You just came on my shirt," Laxus laughed. Gajeel blushed, pushing himself up and looking down at himself in shock. He was wearing Laxus' shirt. How long did Laxus notice? Did anyone else notice? He let out a whine, hitting Laxus over the head for not saying anything before, though Laxus only laughed more. "Let's take a shower," He said, pulling Gajeel off of him and standing from the bed, "C'mon, you 'nd me. We still have some time."

They stood in the shower, silent, Laxus running his hands through long raven hair and lathering it with shampoo. Though Laxus' presence was calming, Gajeel began feeling a sense of regret. He just had sex with Laxus. That was normal, as they had plenty of sex over the past month, but now everyone else was here. Everyone Gajeel didn't want to know about their relationship was here. He frowned at the thought of leaving the hotel room, and Natsu smelling something on him, staring at him and such...wait.

Did Natsu know!? Gajeel jumped at the thought, and Laxus suddenly pulled away from his hair. He turned around slowly as the thought of Natsu possibly knowing something went through his mind. He stared at Laxus with a hint of fear in his eyes, and Laxus could tell he had something to say.

"Did you hear something?" Laxus asked, breaking the silence, "I haven't heard anything all day."

"Laxus," Gajeel began with a more serious tone, "You don't think they know about us, do you?"

Laxus stammered, suddenly remembering Gray's visit just moments ago. Gray did know, but he said he hadn't told anyone else. Before he could say no, Gajeel saw the expression on his face and scowled, "They fucking know, don't they?" He backed away from the other, indifferent to the shower head now drenching his hair.

"No, I thought-No. No one knows, Gajeel," Laxus tried to assure him.

"Of course they fucking know!" Gajeel shouted, "Shit-Wendy probably knows too-I'm a fucking idiot, why _wouldn't_ they know!?"

Gajeel suddenly went silent, his pupils dilating. Laxus grimaced. It was deafening, but this time it wasn't laughing. It was screaming. It echoed through their heads with no sign of ceasing. Feeling claustrophobic, Gajeel pulled the shower curtain open and stumbled out the bathtub. His senses became overwhelmed once again as his vision became blurry and he lost his balance, slipping and falling on the floor. Laxus struggled to get out of the shower and help Gajeel up. A migraine quickly appeared in the lightning mage's head, and he shut his eyes tightly. When he looked up, he briefly caught Gajeel covering his ears. His face was hidden by long wet strands of hair, but Laxus could tell that Gajeel was in just as much pain as he was.

The screaming only got louder, and with Gajeel on his mind, Laxus wished it would just stop.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Suddenly, everything stopped. The screaming, the ringing, everything went dead silent. Laxus opened his eyes to find Gajeel slowly attempting to stand, using the sink as support. He jumped up, nearly hitting his head on the sink as he steadily helped Gajeel back to his feet. They looked at each other, worry and fear in their faces. Laxus broke the silence, muttering "Let's get dressed," and Gajeel nodded, still somewhat shocked by the noises they'd just heard.

Laxus shut the shower off and the two left the bathroom to dress hurriedly. As they did, Gajeel got a glimpse of the outside between the shut curtains. He slowly pulled the curtains apart and peered out. Though their room didn't have much of a view of the park, Gajeel was surprised to see the whole area empty. Silent. He turned to the clock, which read 12:00 PM. Spirit Park supposed to have been evacuated by now. With all the people he'd seen this morning, it was impossible that the park could have been completely evacuated by now...right? Gajeel pulled the curtains and turned to his partner, who was pulling on a brown leather belt over his khakis. He opened his mouth to say something, but then didn't as his attention suddenly turned to the bedroom door.

Absentmindedly, he walked towards the door and opened it. Laxus watched with confusion and concern. Gajeel was thinking of something, but he didn't know what. Silently, he followed the other out the bedroom and into the small living room. Everything was in its place, nothing was touched and appeared to be normal. The daylight shone through the large windows, illuminating the space the two occupied. It was blinding compared to the dark room they were just in, but Gajeel seemed to adjust fine, or not care much for it. He was clearly focused on the hotel door.

When he reached it, Gajeel froze in place, his hand on the door handle as if it were stuck. He peered out the little window, unable to see much due to the sunlight. He was uneasy, Laxus could tell. He didn't know whether or not to stop the other. Before he could speak up, he heard Gajeel exhale and push the door open, revealing an empty balcony.

And a silent park.

Immediately sensing something off, Gajeel briskly walked to the other end of the balcony, peering down at the park. It was empty. There was zero commotion. No one in their booths, no one going down the massive water slide, no one walking up from the aquarium. Gajeel was dumbfounded. Laxus moved over to the edge of the balcony, standing next to Gajeel, and stared at the empty park below. It was evacuated, as Vincent promised, but with the little time frame he had to keep that promise, Laxus was suspicious as to how the park had emptied as fast as it did.

"This...this is…" Gajeel tried to speak, the shock overtaking him. Laxus furrowed his eyebrows, watching the other's mouth as it hung open.

"...Unnatural," Laxus finished. He pulled Gajeel's shirt and lifted him away from the edge of the balcony. They needed to get to the others, and fast. Laxus hoped they were still here as well.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?"

Natsu screamed, exasperated as the group made it to the lobby. His face was red and he was fuming, small flames appearing on his shoulders. Lucy attempted to calm the dragon slayer to no avail, and Erza surprisingly made little efforts to do the same. Instead, her sword was drawn, and her expression was still tense since she'd returned from the park owner's mansion. Lucy turned her attention from Natsu and looked around the lobby to see it completely empty of any visitors or workers. From the massive windows, she could see no one.

"The park must've been evacuated already," Lucy guessed, trying to put two and two together, "No one's in the lobby, not even the staff, which is strange…"

"Strange because the last time we were down here it was crowded," Erza chimed in, "And that was two hours ago. How the hell can everyone be evacuated in such a short amount of time?"

Wendy slowly approached the group, stumbling into the lobby and holding her head. She was dizzy, and Gray stopped her from tripping over her own feet and falling over.

"You alright?" Gray whispered after catching the young mage. She looked up at him and grimaced, holding her head again.

"I'm fine," Wendy answered, "I just have a headache."

"You and Natsu heard something again...what was it?" Erza asked, turning to the two behind her.

Wendy frowned, shivering as she thought about what she heard. "... _Screaming_ ," She said, "It was loud...and it wouldn't stop. It wasn't like the laughing at all, it was...I couldn't hear or see anything, and I felt like I was gonna pass out."

Erza frowned, worried for Wendy's pain. She's a dragon slayer and she could fight without too much of an issue, but she was still quite young. Seeing her hurt made Erza more stressed about the situation than before. She looked outside again. The park really was empty. The mage gripped her sword tighter, walking through the lobby to catch up with Natsu.

"Natsu," Erza called the other, "Something's wrong. Everyone's just up and gone. We need to find the others and see if they're okay, and then we need to speak with Vincent again...and find out if he's safe as well."

"Vincent!? I ain't worried about that weirdo!" Natsu proclaimed, punching at the air, "I wanna kick the ass of th' guys making all these noises I'm hearin'!"

"Natsu, settle down," She commanded, "We don't even know if the sounds you're hearing are coming from a 'guy' to begin with. We don't know anything at the moment! Something just happened and we need to find out right now."

"Erza!" Lucy yelled for the other. As Erza turned to her, she relaxed her arms, relieved to see Laxus, his group walking behind him. Cana was walking alongside Juvia who grasped her arm tightly. Pantherlily walked behind everyone, alert and in his larger form. Gajeel looked much better from last night and this morning, though Erza noticed a hint of fatigue in his face. That split second she worried about Gajeel's state, but then noticed Laxus had a similar appearance.

She pulled Natsu back, and the groups converged into one. "I'm glad you're all okay," Erza spoke, "The citizens were supposed to have been evacuated by this time, but it's as though they'd all disappeared, like they were never here to begin with."

"We saw," Gajeel said with a rather agitated tone, "And we heard it. The noises again. They were loud as hell...I couldn't even stand up."

Laxus began walking ahead, gritting his teeth, "I ain't just gonna stand around. I'm gonna go talk to that Vincent-bastard 'nd see what the fuck is going on for _real_."

Erza's eyes widened as Laxus headed for the front door. The others followed close behind before she had the chance to respond. Laxus was right; as she stated before, they needed to find Vincent and see if he was alright. Though, Laxus had a tone that read Vincent more as a suspect than a potential victim. She remembered Laxus saying he didn't trust the man. Vincent certainly had his quirks, but in order to gain his trust, she knew they needed to trust him as well.

As they walked through the park, things began looking more grim than they feared. People's belongings were abandoned everywhere. There were trays of steaming hot food on tables being pecked at by seagulls. When the mages looked up, they could see a number of roller coasters moving on their own, with empty seats. The massive water slide still had it's water running, but there where many giant floats crowded at the bottom of the pool, and one stuck at the very top of the slide, waiting to be pushed down. No one was there to operate the systems, no one was there to turn the systems off. Everything was left abandoned as if the people that were there just suddenly weren't.

"This is scary," Juvia whispered, "Juvia doesn't want to be here anymore."

"Juvs, it's alright," Cana whispered back, "I'm still here."

Juvia grasped Cana's arm tighter as the group moved forward. Cana wrapped an arm around the rain woman's waist, pulling her closer. Lucy was saddened by her friend's state, but she was charmed by Cana's reaction. She was used to Cana being drunk no matter what, even carrying a bottle of whiskey wherever she went, but Lucy noticed from the day they left for Spirit Park that Cana was different. Juvia had changed since they began seeing each other; wearing brighter colors and having less of a gloomy attitude. Cana changed as well. She was sober, for one, worrying about her friends and keeping her significant other close when danger loomed ahead. It took Lucy's mind off of things, thinking about her friends and how they grew.

Wendy noticed as well, picking up on Cana and Juvia's interaction. She then turned her attention to the dragon slayer leading the way. Laxus was irritated. Natsu made them all go to Spirit Park to investigate Laxus and Gajeel. She noticed some things herself, and at one point assumed they were together. They were talking in low voices, low enough so that even she and Natsu couldn't make out their conversation. Still, as she observed the two, she managed to discern their mannerisms. Laxus and Gajeel were and have been uncharacteristically close. Maybe they really were together. She looked up at the person that wanted to inspect them to begin with, but Natsu was fuming, distracted, thinking about a completely different issue.

They reached the gates once again. Laxus crossed his arms, expecting a voice to tell them to leave as they got closer, but there was none. Erza moved to the front, reaching for the gate and pulling at it. It was locked again. The camera that caught them before didn't move. "Damn," She cursed under her breath and turned to the others, "He isn't responding."

"Maybe he disappeared too…" Happy grimmly suggested. Erza's lips flattened as she hoped this wouldn't be the case. She turned back to the gate, squeezing hard as if there were a way to force the gate open. No dice. Growling, she fiercely kicked at the gate, only causing the metal bars to wobble.

"Gajeel! Eat your way through!" Natsu chirped, only for Gajeel to grunt and glare at the other.

"I don't have time for that," he responded. Gajeel pushed Natsu out the way and Erza stepped aside as he approached the gate. He crossed his arms, observing the gate; it was thick, tall, and stretched around the park. He could easily climb it, but many of the other mages would have a harder time. Of course there were the exceeds, but they could only carry one person. Though there was something familiar about the gate that set the dragon slayer off. He could smell it as he approached it, and it made his blood boil.

One of his arms suddenly began to shine as it was covered with iron scales, and he grabbed one of the bars, crushing it and tearing the door of the gate off its hinges. Astonished, the group stood there silently as Gajeel slammed the broken gate to the ground. Slowly his arm became normal, and he didn't wait to walk past the gate and up the hill.

"What?" Natsu ran up to the other, "It was that easy!? Any of us could've done that!"

"No you fucking couldn't," Gajeel said sternly, "None of you would have."

"The heck are you talking about-!?"

"Shut up already, Salamander," Gajeel stopped mid-way, turning to the other and glaring directly into his eyes. Natsu stopped, taken aback by the other's demeanor. Gajeel stood up straight, sighing, "That wasn't just a fucking gate, okay? It was magic. _Dragon slayer magic_."

The mages' eyes went wide. A Magical Gate? With dragon slayer magic? Like his? Laxus felt like his nails were digging into his own hands as he felt his anger rising. He pushed ahead of the group again and made it to the door in seconds, Gajeel and Natsu close behind. Laxus wanted to break the door down and strangle Vincent, but Erza made it to the porch and stopped him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but quickly removed it as Laxus swiftly turned around startled and taken out of his thoughts.

"I know you suspect him of something," Erza began, standing down as the man leered at her with threatening eyes, "But we can't seem hostile, at least not yet. Vincent may be a jackass but he is a citizen like the rest, and we need to make sure he is safe before we begin our investigation...I really don't want anyone else at this park to get hurt."

Laxus' eyes softened, hearing Erza's voice crack. He stood calmly and let Erza pass him to get to the door. At this point, for Laxus, there was no way he could see Vincent as anything more than a suspect. What Gajeel said about the gate having dragon slayer magic set Laxus off. He was tired of Vincent's apparent obsession with dragon slayers, Gajeel in particular. Laxus looked down at Gajeel and he thought about what Gray said hours before, when he explained that he knew of their relationship. The way he defended Gajeel last night was obvious. Not only did he need to listen to Erza for the sake of their mission, he needed to keep his relationship with Gajeel a secret as he promised. To do that, Laxus had to swallow his pride and treat Vincent like a victim before a suspect.

That was hard to do when he answered the door, clad in the very same robe as before and appearing as though he'd just been woken up.

"What the hell are you lot doing!?" He shouted as the door swung open, "Which one of you damaged my gate!?"

Gajeel glared him down. He had access to dragon slayer magic somehow. Looking at the man, it seemed impossible to Gajeel; he couldn't be a dragon slayer, especially not one that uses iron magic. Vincent turned his agitated gaze to him, and Laxus instinctively stood in front of him, raising an arm in defense before Gajeel could say anything. He looked up at Laxus and bit his lip shut. Laxus gritted his teeth.

"I'll take it from here," Erza raised a hand at the two as they stepped down, "Mr. Aruli. Everyone in the park is gone-"

"Yes?"

"...The park is completely empty-"

"And?" Vincent crossed his arms, "Was that not what you wanted? I evacuated the park just as you asked. Now you can go ahead with your little investigation, please."

"You…" Erza could feel herself breaking, "Everyone's just vanished. There's zero employees, zero Rune Knights...are you even taking this seriously?"

"Taking what seriously, your dumb claims?" He laughed, "I find it quite hard to. But I'm giving you what you want, and quite frankly it's very taxing. I give you my help, even when I don't believe you in the slightest, and you break my gate and tell me I don't know what I'm doing?"

He stepped out of the doorway, the Fairy Tail mages backing up. Vincent takes one more glance at Laxus and Gajeel before looking back at Erza. "The only time I'll call the Rune Knights is if you turn up with nothing after two days. TO ESCORT YOU LOT _OUT_. Because after your time is up, you will all be considered trespassers. I should have done this when your two little friends decided to play around in forbidden areas to begin with. And if you don't leave I'll have you all out now. Do you understand me?"

Erza stood silent, eyes wide open as she was scolded by the man. He sighed, turning back to the door. "I suggest you hurry on then," he said as he began closing the front door behind him, "You only have so long, after all."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"OF COURSE I'M FURIOUS!"

Lucy and Mirajane struggled to hold the fuming mage down. Erza's face was red and her breaths were heavy and aggravated. The group knew better than to do anything but try to console her at this point, as they knew a legitimately angry Erza could be terrifying.

Gajeel didn't seem affected by Erza's shouts. Rather, his thoughts were still focused on Vincent. He wanted to say something, but he didn't get the chance and it annoyed him greatly. He wanted to punch the man's lights out, knock him over and make him talk. He had lingering questions that felt as though they'd never be answered. Gajeel's scales slowly began to appear on his arm until Juvia nudged his arm.

"Gajeel-kun," she whispered, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine," He exhaled, relaxing his arms. His scales slowly disappeared. Juvia tilted her head.

"You got sick last night," She said, "Juvia is still worried...about your condition?"

"What? Juvia, I'm fine, you ain't gotta worry about me," He spoke up, a lighter tone in his voice, "I'm just...I keep thinking…"

"Laxus-san said he doesn't like Mr. Aurli either."

"You're gonna call 'im that, too?" Gajeel rolled his eyes and muttered, "Juvia…somehow, he got a hold of the same magic I use. I can't fucking wrap my head around why or how, and It's rackin' my brain."

"Was it real dragon magic?"

"...I don't know," he shook his head, "It could've been synthetic...but…"

"Everyone!"

Their conversation was interrupted by Erza as they finally reached the center of the park. Her voice echoed through the empty park, sending chills down some of their spines. She drew her sword and raised it in the air, then lowered it towards the other mages.

"We have two days. If we can't bring the park owner solid proof that something dangerous is happening at this park, then it may cost our guild heavily! Citizens going missing didn't seem to impress him, but that doesn't mean we just give up! We need to group up and spread out; search every inch of this park for anything remotely suspicious," She pointed the sword towards individual teammates, "Natsu, Lucy, Happy, you're coming with me. Wendy, Charle, Mirajane and Cana are a team. Gajeel, Laxus, Juvia, Gray, and Pantherlily, you're a team as well. Stay with your team and don't separate from each other. We're figuring this out right. Now."

She slammed her sword to the pavement, making half the group jump before they quickly formed their groups. Lucy walked towards Erza and gently grabbed her shoulders as she huffed, but as she turned back to observe the others, she couldn't help but notice Juvia frown as Cana met with her group. They were separated. As much as she wanted to now, Lucy didn't say anything about the two being apart.

Juvia dejectedly dragged her feet as she walked away from her spot to stand by Gajeel. He looked down at the rain woman and back at Cana, grimacing, "Oi, oi," He waved his hands in front of her face, "Don't make it rain or anything, 'ts gonna fuck up the investigation."

"Smooth," Laxus teased. Gajeel tilted his head back and groaned. They watched as the other two groups began moving, Erza's group moving towards the beach while Cana's headed for the stands closer to the entrance. Gajeel grimaced as he turned to his left and realized where his group would have to look first. The stairway was brightly lit and welcoming, but something about going down to the aquarium felt more like a trap than a friendly invitation.

* * *

"We should've been the ones at the aquarium!" Natsu shouted. Erza sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I understand that," She said, "But Gajeel probably knows much more about what's going on down there than you. You said it yourself, he was down there, right?"

He groaned and Erza nodded, "Laxus likely knows more as well...I want to explore the entire park. People just disappeared. They couldn't have all left within such a short amount of time, Natsu. I didn't want them to get hurt, and because we didn't do anything to help...I should have had us help evacuate Spirit Park long before this."

Lucy looked up from her hands. "Erza," She muttered as she bit her bottom lip. She could hear the other mage's voice begin to crack. Erza raised a hand at Lucy, stopping her from trying to console her.

"This...may have been my fault," She continued, "I'm willing to take responsibility for people getting hurt. I didn't want it to happen, but it did and it's my fault. I want to fix it. I wanna tear this whole place apart until I get answers! I want-!"

"Erza."

She stopped as the dragon slayer called her name. Natsu stood behind her, happy floating gently beside him. "You know you didn't do this," he said rather blatantly, "Someone did this and we're gonna find out who. This isn't your fault, and it ain't your responsibility, either. We're choosing to help these people because that's what good people do, right? That's what Fairy Tail does."

Erza's face softened and Natsu grinned, cheekily, "I never really like when you get upset," He laughed as he reached for her shoulder, "You are a leader. You've helped us get this far, but I

M not just gonna let you keep all this weight for yourself. We're Fairy Tail mages. If somethin' goes wrong, we're taking the fall with you."

"Master Makarov probably wouldn't mind anyway," Happy spoke up, "He's used to it."

"...I suppose that's...true," She moved long red hair from her face, looking at the other in his eyes, "That means a lot to me. Thank you, Natsu."

"Not a pr-!"

Natsu looked up with wide eyes. Erza could practically feel his heartbeat. Scales began showing from his skin, appearing on his hands and shoulders. He swiftly spun around and stared at the boardwalk before them. Erza, Lucy and happy moved to see just what Natsu was looking at, but the boardwalk was empty. There was no sound other than the ocean.

Lucy reached out to grab Natsu's hand, but was too late as he was already charging up the wooden boardwalk ramp. They rushed to catch up to him, Lucy tripping over herself as she struggled to keep up with the others. "Hey wait!" She yelled, "Natsu! What's wrong!? What the hell is it!?"

"I'm gonna kill this thing!" He growled, chasing down his prey. The little rodent stared at him with glowing white eyes and had the appearance of a giant rat from afar. Natsu knew it wasn't just a rat. It was like a silhouette, having no other discernible form other than a basic shape and running on all fours. Natsu's senses were all over the place as he chased after it, but he ignored it, getting closer and closer to the creature with each passing second. "Get! Over! You You! Bastard!"

He leapt forward, grabbing the rodent by the tail. He laid there on the wooden walkway shocked as the tail phased through his hand like nothing. Natsu watched as it ran off the boardwalk and into a manhole, squeezing through the small opening.

Erza, Lucy and Happy finally caught up to him. Lucy panted as she knelt down beside him. "What the heck was that?" She asked through ragged breathing. Natsu stood up, eyes kept on the manhole.

"We're going underground."

* * *

Cana and Mirajane, bemused, looked at each other for a brief moment and turned back to the younger girl, her head lowered sorrowfully. Mirajane crossed her arms and stifled a chuckle. "So that's why you're all here, huh?"

"Yes," Wendy admitted, Charle shaking her head beside her, "I'm sorry, I wasn't supposed to say anything."

"I mean, it's fine," Cana said, "I guess as long as Gajeel and Laxus don't know you guys should be okay!"

"Yeah," Mirajane confirmed a bright smile on her face, "I'm not surprised Natsu would be as curious as he is. He does stuff like that all the time, even when we were kids. Always snooping around, peeking into everyone's business and such."

"Y' just get used to it, I mean, we got used to it, Mira and I. Laxus kinda has a short temper, and I don't know how he'd feel about you guys finding out."

Wendy nodded. She didn't know Laxus very well, but she and Gajeel had gotten quite close. She'd put two and two together a couple days ago, figuring that the two had gotten together. Though she never said anything, Mira and Cana could tell she knew something was up. So Wendy spilled the beans. She and her group had come to Spirit Park initially to investigate the two, but their interest in the mystery had dwindled fast as the amusement park had taken their attention. Still, she knew about Gajeel and Laxus. She just didn't say anything to anyone the whole time, not even Charle.

Her suspicions were confirmed by Mirajane. "So you probably know this then," She said, "But yeah...Gajeel and Laxus are seeing each other. I can't really talk about it but I know you already know and I can trust you." Mirajane tilted her head, a hand placed on her chin. Wendy ignored the exceed beside her as she stuttered in shock realizing what was going on and bit her lip. Mirajane trusted her, but did Gajeel? He didn't want this to get out, but somehow she felt like knowing their secret would put him in some sort of danger. What if she accidentally said something, to Natsu of all people? Or even to Gray? Gajeel was like an older brother to her, and she didn't want to think about losing that relationship.

"Oh! Also," Cana chirped, "Wendy, I may as well tell you this, but I'm actually with Juvia."

Wendy froze. She knew that. She remembered the first day at the park, when she and Lucy witnessed them together on the water slide. Lucy knew as well. Did she want Lucy to know?

"I was actually considering coming out to everyone at the guild," She continued, "We talked about it. I don't want to keep our relationship a secret anymore and I think we can trust the guild...so…"

"Oh!" Wendy exclaimed suddenly, "Well that's wonderful!"

Cana smiled softly, relief present in her expression. Wendy however was full of dread. God she couldn't tell her she already knew. She couldn't tell Cana that she, Lucy and Charle actually spied on them. She briefly looked at Charle, who with raised eyebrows averted her eyes, nodding as if to say that was good enough. Wendy sighed quietly.

Their attention was pulled towards the very entrance of Spirit Park when a voice was heard by a help desk. "Over here! Hey!" They heard. Mirajane took charge, leading the group to the source of the sound and looking into the large blue stall. The stall had a collection of maps of the amusement park, and two computers that were still running.

Mirajane peered over the desk and noticed a man cowering under it. She let out a gasp as she realized it was Vincent. What was he doing here? They'd been wandering for a good forty-five minutes, but the entire time they'd never seen anyone walking around. She pulled him up and over the desk, surprising the other three.

"Vinc-I mean-Mr. Aurli, what are you...how did you get here?" Mirajane asked. Vincent brushed himself off. He was fully dressed, wearing black pants and a deep blue dress shirt. His hair was slicked back as it had been, but it had a particular shine to it as if it had been recently gelled.

"Of COURSE I was trying to escape this hell-hole!" He shouted, making the other mage jump back, "I must admit, you lot were correct-there is something amiss with my beautiful amusement park. And it's dangerous for sure."

"You saw something!?" Cana stepped forward.

"Saw something!? Please, I was attacked by something!" He answered, his hands in shaking fists, "That thing dragged me about and left me here! How could you have not seen it!?"

"...but…" Wendy began quietly, but stopped. She lost the courage to say something as quickly as she got it. Vincent observed the four for a moment before sighing and crossing his arms.

"Alright then," he said, "You haven't found anything so far, I take it?"

"...No," Mirajane admitted, averting her eyes the moment he noticed his grin.

"Hah!" He cheered, "The very moment I step outside I find something of some importance, and you've been searching for however long and found _nothing_ notable? You fairies think you're so smart, but-"

His bragging was halted when a loud creaking noise came from below. They looked ahead to see a manhole cover tilting open and shut as if it's weight weren't enough to hold down whatever was trying to come out. Wendy went cold as whatever tried to open the manhole cover peered at her with its many eyes. The cover was held up as it stared. She could barely make out what it was from where she stood, but she could tell the eyes were eyes when they blinked. After a second, it quickly disappeared, slamming the cover shut as it did and making the others jump.

Charle turned to Wendy. "You saw it didn't you?" she asked. Wendy only nodded, biting her bottom lip. Cana looked down at Wendy and back to the manhole cover, nodding to herself.

"We need to go down there."

"What!?" Vincent shouted, disgusted by the idea, "Absolutely not! We don't have a reason to be down there of all places and quite frankly I don't-"

"We want to be thorough," Cana interrupted him, "Some invisible thing or whatever-it's down _there_. We could finally get some answers. Besides, what's so gross about the sewer? Didn't you build it, Mr. Aurli?"

Vincent scowled, "I had workers build it," he confirmed, "I am the designer, I don't do construction, and I don't do _sewage work_. I don't know what's down there and I have no intention to find out."

Cana shrugged, "Then stay here. I don't give a damn what happens to you up here."

Mirajane raised her eyebrows and hid a grin behind her fingertips. Vincent balled his fists and held his breath, defeated.

"Fine, then," he finally answered, "I will follow you, but only for MY safety."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey all! I know it's been a minute but I'm back with a new chapter. I'll need some time to figure out the next chapter before we get to the bigger part in the story, so I'll be writing some stuff in between. I have some ideas for other Laxeel stories I want to get out.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! I'd love to know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They were back at the aquarium.

The back room was as it was before; completely red, with black mist at their feet. The crack in the wall was much larger than before, taking space on the floor as well. If they wanted, they could climb in much easier now, but they were all hesitant to get any closer than across the room.

Gajeel frowned. He could feel himself getting nauseous again. He didn't want to come back here, in fact, he wished they could have just ignored everything and went home. Still Gajeel knew that they had to do this, even if it meant fucking up their whole vacation. He jumped slightly when Laxus tapped his shoulder, and as quickly as he did he turned away to face the wall.

"You alright?" He whispered, low enough for the other three to miss.

"I'm fine," Gajeel responded, his tone shaky and rasped.

"You look like you're gettin' sick again."

"I said I'm _fine_."

"What the hell is this place?" Gray finally spoke up, gaining the group's attention, "Whatever it is, it ain't normal."

"Of course it isn't," Gajeel said, "This was where we first saw it. 'ts where everything pretty much started."

He stretched his arm out, pointing to the large black spot in the corner, "That thing isn't just dirt. It's where they're coming from. It's how they get in and how they get out, whatever they are. It's some kind of hole, or a portal. We don't know."

Gray felt a shiver up his spine, "Well I don't wanna be the one to go through it."

"We probably have to," Gajeel said, "Not seein' a way to just close the damn thing up."

"It's not that easy, remember?" Laxus said, "When we came here last time I stuck some metal pole through that thing, and whatever was in there just...sucked the whole thing inside."

Gajeel lowered his head into his hand, groaning. Laxus quickly pulled him out of the room and behind Gray and Pantherlily, who watched as Gajeel was walked further away from the room. He kept his head low, only responding to Laxus in pained moans and keeping his eyes shut. Gajeel slid against the wall to the floor and rested his elbows on his knees.

"...I don't want to go in there," He finally admitted through gritted teeth, "I just don't...see another fucking way...shit."

"Wait here," Laxus stood up and headed back towards the other two. They hid their astonishment as Laxus returned. "He's got a migraine or something," He said, "We need to see if there's another way in there. Could still be something in there waiting for us, it's like a damn trap."

Gray held his breath. It was strange that he could see the magic occurring in the room. In fact, he fully expected Laxus and Gajeel to be the only ones that could. That was the crack in the wall Natsu was talking about-now it was pretty much just one big hole. It was the things coming in and out that he definitely couldn't see, and there's probably something in there right now, waiting.

"This is a trap."

Laxus and Pantherlily looked at him. Gray shut the heavy door, the four of them left outside the room. He tightened his grip on the door handle before letting go and turning to face the group. "What happened last time you were in here? And the room was like this?" He asked.

"Something grabbed me." Gajeel answered, still facing the tiled floor, "It grabbed me and looked at me. It started pullin' me back into the room."

"Natsu didn't see the room when it was like this," Gray a hand on his chin, "But he saw the hole, and Happy didn't. Now all of a sudden I can see it no problem?...It's like it _wants_ me to see it. Whatever it is we're fighting, it wanted us in the room, and it wanted us to go through whatever portal that was, _desperately._ "

They stood in silence, confused for a moment. Gajeel looked up past Gray and into the room. He may be right. The hole was big enough for any of them to fit through. It was practically beckoning for them to enter. He felt like he could hear them laughing in his head, though it may not have been real. Gajeel just felt like a fool for nearly falling for whatever trap they set. Laxus pulled him off the floor and Gajeel found himself standing nearly on his toes as the bigger dragon slayer practically held him up.

"You'll be fine," he said quietly, "Let's get out of here and look for another way in."

Gajeel pursed his lips. "We're really going in there, huh?"

"If we wanna stop whatever's goin' on, we gotta find it first."

Gajeel nodded and Laxus let go. Both of them headed out of the little hallway and Pantherlily followed, Gray close behind him. He looked back into the room and noticed the further they got from it the smaller the portal got. It was almost back into its crack-like state before it left Gray's field of vision. He grimaced.

They partially hoped the amusement park would be as full and bustling as it was that morning but it wasn't meant to be. It was the same, barren park. They looked around for a moment before they moved forward. Gajeel's eyes went wide as he heard something skittering around. It made him shiver and freeze up, Laxus nearly bumping into him. The dragon slayers sharply turned and looked up. Gray and Pantherlily looked up as well. They didn't see anything.

Gajeel and Laxus, however, could see it clearly.

It was a massive, black, centipede-like creature. Gajeel nearly gagged as he recognized its many, many eyes peering at the group from so far away. Quickly, it crawled around the building until it was unseen. Without a moment to spare the four charged back towards the hotel.

"What's going on!?" Pantherlily shouted as he tried to keep up with Gajeel, "Did you two see something!?"

"Something's at the hotel! ...I've seen that fucking thing before!"

They burst through the hotel doors. The lights were flickering, flashing from their normal, bright and welcoming lighting to the same deep red from the room in the aquarium. Laxus and Gajeel winced as they could hear a shrill scream from above. It was on the higher floors. Gajeel clenched his fists, his arms covering in iron scales. Was this thing the cause of all this happening?The source of everything? He didn't give it another thought before he ran up the stairs after it, followed by everyone.

As they passed different floors they noticed the balcony lights flickered less and less, the red color lasting longer and longer until they finally reached a floor that stayed completely red. Laxus grunted as he stopped Gajeel. That was their floor.

There was another scream. The dragon slayers covered their ears, Gajeel losing footing and falling to his knees. Pantherlily knelt down to his side to help toe dragon slayer, but Gajeel nudged him away.

"I'm fine," He said, teeth gritted as he slowly stood up again, "This thing's a pain in the ass!"

"Let's move," Laxus ran forward once the screaming finally stopped.

The door to Laxus' hotel room was shut, but from below he could see a mist. Through the window, it was dark and clouded. Gajeel bit his lip as he opened the door. Upon entering the dragon slayers were met with a sensory overload. Laxus nearly collapsed on the nearby couch and Gajeel was helped up by the exceed.

"What is going on now?" Gray spoke up, "What the hell're you hearing? Laxus?"

Laxus didn't respond. Instead, he pushed himself up, struggling to stand but began making his way towards the bedroom. The closer he got the worse his headache became. Whatever that thing was, it was in there, and it wanted him to enter.

"Laxus-!"

He turned around to meet Gajeel's eyes. They looked concerned. Worried. Stressed. Gajeel was tired. Laxus exhaled, exhausted by everything. This bullshit needs to end. He returned an ensuring look before opening the bedroom door. Gajeel spoke under his breath, so quietly Gray and Pantherlily couldn't hear him. Subconsciously he squeezed Pantherlily's arms, watching his partner face what could very well be certain death.

* * *

Laxus couldn't see anything. The room was completely covered in a very familiar black mist. The door slammed behind him, leaving him in complete darkness.

"Gajeel!?" He called out. There was no response. He cursed under his breath. Either they couldn't hear him or he couldn't hear them.

He tried looking around, walking, feeling for anything familiar. Laxus' breathing became erratic as he could feel no bed, no dresser, no walls. There was a floor, maybe, but every time he took a step his heart skipped a beat, expecting to lose ground and fall.

"H-hello?" He spoke shakily.

"Hello."

"Fuck-!" Laxus took a fighting stance, his arms flashing with lightning magic. He noticed it did nothing to light up the room. "Who the fuck is here? Who are you!?"

"No need to be afraid," the voice continued, "I only wanted to see you."

He raised an eyebrow. The voice was gentle, feminine, yet the echoes were sharp enough to send shivers down the man's spine. He wouldn't be enticed. "Come out, then!" Laxus shouted, releasing lightning from his arms. They shot at the ground and sparked everywhere, and yet they did nothing to light the room.

"If you insist."

One eye after another opened. Laxus found himself looking at the very same image Gajeel had seen earlier, but it was much more terrifying. He noticed the eyes were all different, some blue, some green, but they were all human. The eyes twitched in all directions, for a moment ignoring Laxus as the creature emerged. Then finally, all at once, the eyes darted towards him, staring him down. The dragon slayer actually found himself frozen in place. It was like time stopped. The eyes didn't move, but each iris changed from a variety of colors to jet black.

* * *

"Just move out of the fucking way already!" Gajeel yelled. Pantherlily and Gray quickly moved away from the door as they saw a massive iron club coming their way. Like that, the door was broken down. The mist that was previously in the room vanished out the front door of the hotel. The lights flickered back on and the trio found themselves in a rather normal looking hotel room.

Gajeel pushed the two aside and entered the room. He held his breath as he looked around. "Laxus!?" He called the other. There was no response, no other dragon slayer in sight.

* * *

 **A/N: You didn't think I forgot about this fic, did you? :D**


End file.
